Schools Of Excellence Podcast: Recent Episodes

View Details

You don't have one type of parent in your school. You have three, four, maybe five. And if your marketing, your website, and your enrollment tours are all speaking to the same imaginary "average" parent, that's exactly why some of your best families are scrolling right past you.

In this episode, Chanie breaks down the Parent Archetype framework, a structured way to figure out who is actually enrolling in your center, what they care about, and how to stop guessing at your marketing and start speaking directly to the families in front of you.

This is the enrollment conversation most schools skip. Everyone wants to talk about Facebook ads, website redesigns, and getting more Google reviews. Chanie makes the case that none of that works until you understand the data underneath it: who your parents actually are, what they actually value, and why they actually choose you. Whether you're short on enrollment, sitting on a full waitlist, or just want a marketing strategy that finally makes sense, this episode gives you the foundation everything else is built on.

What You'll Learn* Why enrollment is "the lifeblood of your business" no matter what season you're in * The five data collection methods to understand your actual parent population (not who you assume they are) * The exact demographic categories to track, from family structure to decision-making style * Why online reviews mean almost nothing to certain parent avatars, and everything to others * Five real parent archetypes Chanie uses with clients: Career-Focused, Highly Involved, First-Time, Multicultural, and Grandparent Guardian * How to validate your avatars once you've built them * Why throwing money at Facebook ads won't fix an enrollment problem rooted in bad messaging

Connect With Us:

• Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

View Details

You don't need a bigger ad budget to fill your classrooms this month. You need a plan you can actually execute in the next 30 days, and that is exactly what I'm walking you through in this episode.

Right now, you're probably in one of two camps. Maybe enrollment is humming along, you've got a waitlist, and you just raised tuition again. Or maybe you're in a season where things feel harder. Parent retention has dipped, you've had a wave of families leave, or you just opened two new classrooms after an acquisition or a hiring spree and you need those seats filled to hit the profit margin you're working toward.

Wherever you land, this episode is for you, because every leader benefits from knowing how to move fast when enrollment needs to move.

Here's the distinction I want you to sit with first: there's a short-term plan and a long-term plan, and most schools only ever build one or the other. Ads, a new website, an SEO strategy, these are long-term visibility plays. It takes weeks to get the right creative, the right targeting, the right cost per lead down. Building a website that actually drives traffic is a two to three month process. That work matters, but it will not put a family in your door by the end of this month.

So today, we're playing short-term. Three strategies you can start this week that get real families walking through your doors before the month is out.

What You'll Learn:

• Why ads and a new website are long-term plays, and what actually moves the needle in 30 days
• How to run an open house that turns strangers into enrolled families, not just a nice event
• The exact way to “work the room” so every conversation moves a parent closer to signing up
• How to run a parent working roundtable that turns your current families into an active referral engine
• Why personalized incentives outperform generic ones every time
• How to turn everyday errands, like the gym or a nearby apartment building, into enrollment opportunities
• What “ethical eavesdropping” is and how it can shape your long-term marketing strategy

Connect With Us:

• Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

View Details

What if I told you one of our clients added 80 new families to her enrollment for the upcoming school year, and five more who enrolled on the spot, in under 30 days? Not through luck. Not through crossing her fingers and hoping tours would convert. Through a system.

In this episode, I'm walking you through the enrollment gear: what it actually looks like to build an enrollment ecosystem instead of just doing enrollment activity. I'm sharing the real story of a client, Missy, who runs multiple locations and turned one of her struggling centers around by building accountability into her calendar instead of hoping her team would just remember to follow up.

We're covering the four levels of work every gear needs (strategic, implementation, support, and classroom), the difference between green and red activities in your enrollment process, and why your calendar is the real battlefield where enrollment either happens or doesn't. I also get into why disturbances and interruptions throughout your day aren't a sign something's broken. They're actually part of the job, and there's a mindset shift here that changes how you lead.

What You'll Learn:

• The three systems Missy put in place that helped her center enroll 80 new families in under 30 days
• The four levels of work (strategic, implementation, support, classroom) and who owns each one in your enrollment process
• The difference between green activities (closest to the cash) and red activities (busywork that feels productive but doesn't move enrollment)
• Why your calendar, not your to-do list, is where enrollment actually gets won or lost
• How to know when your enrollment gear can move into strategic maintenance instead of constant hustle
• Why interruptions and disturbances throughout your day are an invitation to practice leadership, not a problem to eliminate

Resources Mentioned:

• Five Gears Diagnostic: https://hub.schoolsofexcellence.com/fivegears

Connect With Us:

• Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

View Details

You already know your enrollment is down. You already know payroll is eating you alive. You already know two of your best teachers just gave notice. But have you actually looked at your calendar?

In this episode, I'm walking you through something I say to our clients until I'm blue in the face: every single problem you're dealing with in your center right now, profit, staff retention, parent retention, enrollment, traces back to your calendar. Not your marketing. Not your staff. Your calendar.

This isn't a time management pep talk. This is the actual mechanism behind why some centers grow steadily while others stay stuck putting out the same fires month after month. I walk you through how I run calendar audits with our clients (including multi-site operators running 5, 10, 15+ locations), what the School Leader Scorecard is, and why I said no to a well paid, exciting opportunity that came my way this year, even though it hurt in the moment.

If you've ever told yourself "I just don't have time" or blamed a missed goal on a call-out or a licensing visit, this episode is going to challenge that story. Grab a notebook. You're going to want to write some of this down.

What You'll Learn:* Why your calendar and your bank account are the two most honest indicators of what you actually value * The difference between working in your business and working on your business, and why both need dedicated time * How to identify the $10 an hour tasks that are quietly draining your profit * What the School Leader Scorecard is and how it categorizes your time from $10 an hour to $10,000 an hour * Why "someone called out" is not the real reason you missed your goals * How to run a calendar audit that actually holds you accountable to your priorities * Why saying no to a profitable opportunity was the right call for my business this season

Connect With Us:

• Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/
• Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

View Details

Ever notice how the first staff meeting of the year gets the ironed tablecloths, the good snacks, and the outfit you actually planned in advance... and then somehow still leaves your team overwhelmed instead of inspired?

That's the paradox we're unpacking on this episode. As a new school year gets underway, it's tempting to use that first meeting to hand your team everything you think is mission critical, all at once. Handbook. Policies. Vision. Values. Classroom management. Every important thing you've been sitting on, verbally dumped into one meeting because it finally feels like the right moment. And then we wonder why the team walks away foggy instead of focused.

In this episode, Chanie breaks down why that approach backfires and walks through a framework for designing a first staff meeting that actually sticks. The core idea: different topics activate different parts of the brain, and a meeting that jumps between all of them without intention is asking your team to do something their brains simply can't do well.

What You'll Learn* Why cramming vision, policy, and logistics into one meeting works against you, and the three-part structure to use instead * How to turn abstract concepts like mission and vision into something your team can actually use when a parent is yelling or a kid needs stitches * The exact questions to ask your staff so they define, in their own words, how they want to show up when things get hard * How to build a school theme or headline for the year that actually guides decisions about time, money, and energy, instead of getting lost by October * A hands-on team activity that gets your whole staff thinking creatively about what your theme looks like in real classrooms * Why investing in people will always outperform investing in another piece of software * How to close out the meeting by having each teacher commit to one small, doable habit for the year

Connect With Us:

• Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/
• Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

View Details

What happens when you've done everything right, built the SOPs, color-coded the calendars, created the checklists, and your business still finds a way to make you sick?

That's exactly where this week's guest, Kathy Gray, found herself. Kathy is the owner of Creative Critters, a growing early childhood education company based in Virginia with five centers (and counting). She's been part of the Schools of Excellence community for years, and in this conversation, she gets real about what it actually looked like to lead “with empathy first” and what it cost her.

If you've ever felt like being a good leader means being endlessly available, endlessly understanding, and endlessly willing to make an exception for one more person, this episode is going to hit close to home.

Kathy and Chanie unpack the difference between leading by example and leading by self-sacrifice. They talk about what happens when a director is too afraid to protect the standards because she's afraid of losing staff (spoiler: you lose the right staff anyway). And they get into one of the most important distinctions in leadership: care is not the same thing as capacity.

This episode also digs into how Kathy started using data, specifically staff time-off data, to finally see what her culture was actually telling her. One number she found: at one center, they had a full staff only 35% of the time. That's not a staffing problem. That's a standards problem.

By the end of this conversation, you'll understand why the phrase “protecting the standards” matters so much more than “being consistent,” and why the goal isn't to stop caring. It's to stop absorbing everyone else's outcomes as your own.

What You'll Learn:* Why leading “by example” can quietly turn into leading by self-sacrifice * The critical difference between care and capacity, and why confusing them costs you your best staff * How Kathy used time-off data to uncover what her culture was really telling her (and what she found) * Why protecting the standards is different from being “a stickler” or being harsh * What it means to let the company, not the leader, carry the weight of the standard * Why healthy dependence on your team is not weakness, and what's lost when leaders try to do it all alone * Kathy's honest reflection on what still isn't where she wants it to be, even after years of growth

Resources Mentioned:

• This Can't Be Normal by Chanie Wilschanski: https://thiscantbenormal.com
• Access Chapter One of This Can’t Be Normal for Free: https://thiscantbenormal.com/chapter-one

Connect With Us:

• Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/
• Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

View Details

A few weeks ago, I sat down with Jessica Hampton and Katie Dank on Child Care Confidential, and about ten minutes in, Jessica said, "You just described my life." That's usually how these conversations go.

We talked about what's in This Can't Be Normal, and specifically about why a bigger team can still leave a leader feeling completely alone. We got into the difference between systems, standards, and rhythms, why "getting buy-in" is often a leader avoiding a hard conversation instead of building real alignment, and why waking up at 2 am with your brain looping isn't a personality flaw. It's a drift, and it's a signal worth listening to.

If you've ever felt like the only one actually working while everyone else gets to play pretend until things get hard, this conversation is for you.

• Why "protecting your energy" is the wrong goal, and what to do instead
• The real difference between systems, standards, and rhythms, and why only rhythms create safety
• What "performing confusion" looks like when a director avoids holding a standard
• Why proximity isn't accountability, and how leaders end up being the business instead of building one
• Why resistance to a new standard is often a sign the standard is a good one
• The three-part definition of a rhythm: pre-decided, mood-proof, and identity-giving

Resources Mentioned:

• Download Chapter One of This Can’t Be Normal: https://thiscantbenormal.com/chapter-one
• Grab a copy of This Can’t Be Normal: https://thiscantbenormal.com/

Connect With Us:

• Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/
• Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Earlier in the week, we talked about micromanaging, the first thing that shows up in what I call the delegation dip. Today we're moving into the second thing: neglect.

Neglect doesn't look like yelling or control. It looks like handing someone the reins and walking away, especially when they seem competent enough that you assume they don't need guidance. I want to share a story that plays out in schools constantly, where a leader hires someone highly capable, assumes competence means they don't need training, and unintentionally leaves them to fend for themselves.

We'll talk about what neglect actually looks like day to day, why it's just as damaging as micromanaging even though it feels like the opposite, and how to give your team the guidance they need without hovering over them.

• Why hiring someone capable can accidentally lead to less training, not more

• The difference between coaching a beginner and coaching someone already skilled

• Why teachers and directors need different mindsets

• How unclear direction leads people to fill gaps with self-doubt

• Practical ways to guide your team without micromanaging or disappearing

Tune in for part two of this series, and get ready to look at delegation a little differently.

Resources Mentioned:

• Free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

Connect With Us:

• Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/
• Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

You've probably been told you can't delegate because you're a control freak or a perfectionist. This episode kicks off a new series called the Delegation Dip, and Chanie makes the case that sometimes holding onto a task is wisdom, not fear.

• Why delegating a task and delegating an outcome goal are different skills

• The difference between a taskmaster and a profit warrior on your team

• What the delegation dip is and why efficiency drops after you hand something off

• The real, fear based root of micromanagement

• Three signs you're micromanaging, and what to do instead

Tune in for part one of this series, and get ready to rethink what delegation actually requires.

Resources Mentioned:

• Free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

Connect With Us:

• Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/
• Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Ever given a teacher feedback and watched her shut down right in front of you? This week, Chanie breaks down the real difference between feedback and feed forward, and why one keeps your team stuck while the other actually helps them grow.

• Why feedback can trigger fight, flight, or freeze in your team

• A real coaching story about a curriculum specialist who was hypercritical with one age group

• The exact questions that help a teacher see her own blind spots

• How often you should be running formal check-ins with your staff

• Who you should actually be asking for feedback, and who you shouldn't

Tune in for a practical shift you can use in your very next coaching conversation.

Resources Mentioned:

• This Can't Be Normal by Chanie Wilschanski: https://thiscantbenormal.com
• Access Chapter One of This Can’t Be Normal for Free: https://thiscantbenormal.com/chapter-one

Connect With Us:

• Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/
• Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Why do your school's systems keep breaking, even after you've built the SOPs and invested in outside help? Chanie explains the real pattern behind it, and it isn't a discipline problem.

In this episode:

• Why even a $2.1 million consulting investment couldn't fix one leader's system

• The real reason caretakers break their own rules under pressure

• The four-part framework every system needs to actually hold: standard, ownership, rhythm, response

• How to start noticing the invisible ways you rescue your team from consequences

Tune in for why the fix isn't another template.

Resources Mentioned:

• This Can't Be Normal by Chanie Wilschanski: https://thiscantbenormal.com
• Access Chapter One of This Can’t Be Normal for Free: https://thiscantbenormal.com/chapter-one

Connect With Us:

• Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/
• Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Two of the trickiest drama symptoms to spot -- and the eight traits of leadership that replace them.

In this episode, Chanie finishes the drama symptoms series with a look at manipulation and inconsistent actions and behaviors. Key topics include:

• The cost framework for deciding when it is time to let a toxic employee go
• Why grief is a natural and valid part of removing drama from your culture
• How inconsistency creates hypervigilance on your team
• The difference between inconsistency and intentional discernment
• The 8 characteristics of a drama-free leader -- and how to apply them when hiring and coaching

If you have been holding onto someone you know you should let go, or leading a team that cannot predict what is coming next, this episode is your next step.

Resources Mentioned:

• This Can't Be Normal by Chanie Wilschanski: https://thiscantbenormal.com
• Access Chapter One of This Can’t Be Normal for Free: https://thiscantbenormal.com/chapter-one

Connect With Us:

• Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/
• Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Sharon Jayakumar owns a Reggio-inspired school of nearly 200 children in Philadelphia and a few years ago, she almost walked away from all of it. Not because her school was failing. Because growing without infrastructure was taking everything she had.

In this episode, Sharon and Chanie talk about what changed when she stopped going it alone. Key topics include:

• Building infrastructure that holds as your school grows
• What standards actually are -- and how to return to them after drift
• How one month of one-on-ones eliminated call-outs at her school
• Why buy-in comes after deployment, not before
• What it looks like to hire from a place of partnership instead of rescue

If you have been asking whether your school can ever really run without you, this one is for you.

Resources Mentioned:

• This Can't Be Normal by Chanie Wilschanski: https://thiscantbenormal.com
• Access Chapter One of This Can’t Be Normal for Free: https://thiscantbenormal.com/chapter-one

Connect With Us:

• Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/
• Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Is drama quietly draining your school culture? In Part 2 of the Decoding Your Culture series, Chanie breaks down three signs that drama has taken root in your center, using real stories from real school leaders.

In this episode:

• What drama actually looks like in a childcare center (it's rarely the big blowups)
• Why criticizing and complaining spreads from one person to an entire team
• How one director transformed her culture by addressing gossip in her own life first
• What victim mentality looks like in leadership and how to shift it
• Why you cannot separate who you are at home from who you are at work

Tune in for the stories and insight that will help you see your culture more clearly.

Resources Mentioned:

• This Can't Be Normal by Chanie Wilschanski: https://thiscantbenormal.com
• Access Chapter One of This Can’t Be Normal for Free: https://thiscantbenormal.com/chapter-one

Connect With Us:

• Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

You hired a team so you wouldn't have to carry it all — so why does it feel like you're carrying more than ever?

In this episode, Chanie Wilschanski breaks down the ownership gap that keeps school leaders stuck and alone, no matter how big their team gets. You'll learn:

• Why delegation and ownership produce completely different outcomes
• The four-part infrastructure — Standard, Ownership, Rhythm, Response — that creates real shared leadership
• Why there will always be a reason the standard doesn't get met, and how to build systems that hold anyway
• How protecting your team from hard work is actually working against both of you

If you're ready to stop being the emergency plan for your own school, this episode is where to start.

Resources & Links Mentioned: Download Chapter One of This Can't Be Normal for free: https://thiscantbenormal.com/chapter-one * This Can't Be Normal: What to Do When Success Starts to Feel Like Survival* by Chanie Wilschanski — https://thiscantbenormal.com

Connect With Us:Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Your school has a culture right now. The question is whether you actually know what it's saying.

In Part 1 of the Culture Decoder series, Chanie Wilschanski breaks down what company culture actually is, what it isn't, and how to start reading the emotional data already showing up in your building. You'll learn:

• Why perks and team events are not culture (and what actually is)

• How to identify your school's core cultural tension

• Why negative emotions are your most valuable data

• The first step of the Culture Decoder framework

• Why building stronger culture starts with observing yourself, not your team

Resources Mentioned Download Chapter One of This Can't Be Normal for free: https://thiscantbenormal.com/chapter-one * This Can't Be Normal: What to Do When Success Starts to Feel Like Survival* by Chanie Wilschanski — https://thiscantbenormal.com

Connect With Us* Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Accountability conversations going sideways in your school? The problem might not be your staff — it might be where you're starting the conversation.

In this episode, Chanie Wilschanski breaks down why most accountability problems are actually identity problems — and why gratitude is the missing foundation. You'll learn:

• Why feedback feels like a personal attack (even when it isn't)

• How identity and worth impact your team's ability to hear hard truths

• Why gratitude and accountability are two sides of the same coin

• The question that changes how you approach every difficult conversation

If your accountability conversations keep blowing up, this episode will show you exactly where to start instead.

Resources Mentioned Download Chapter One of This Can't Be Normal for free: https://thiscantbenormal.com/chapter-one * This Can't Be Normal: What to Do When Success Starts to Feel Like Survival* by Chanie Wilschanski — https://thiscantbenormal.com

Connect With Us* Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

You survived the school year. So why doesn't summer feel like relief? In this episode, Chanie pulls from her book This Can't Be Normal to talk about why rest alone can't fix exhaustion — and what school leaders really need to recalibrate.

• Why your nervous system is still bracing after the school year ends

• The difference between achievement and integration

• What it means to mortgage your identity to your school

• The question that shifts everything about how you experience summer

• How rhythms and anchors create stability without removing the chaos

If you've built something meaningful and still feel like you're carrying more than you were meant to hold, this episode is for you. Tune in.

Resources Mentioned:

Get Chanie's book, This Can't Be Normal: https://thiscantbenormal.com

Follow Chanie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/

Join the Schools of Excellence Lounge on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolsofexcellencelounge

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Summer hits every school. The leaders who make it through without spiraling are the ones who built something before the season arrived.

In this episode, Chanie breaks down why summer disruption is completely predictable — and why most school leaders keep getting blindsided anyway. She walks through the real financial cost of enrollment dips and staffing misalignment, explains why better systems and checklists won't solve the core problem, and introduces the Standards Installation Toolkit for leaders ready to stop being the centralized shock absorber in their school.

In this episode:

• Why your school runs at the speed of your capacity (and what that costs)

• The math behind summer revenue loss and labor overlap

• What standards actually are — and how they remove you from the moment of impact

• How to build infrastructure that holds before the season hits

Tune in to learn how to lead your school through summer without losing yourself in the process.

Resources Mentioned:

• Access the Standards Installation Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/standard
• Access the Staff Culture Infrastructure Vault (only 100 spots!): https://schoolsofexcellence.com/vault
• Get Chanie's book, This Can't Be Normal: https://thiscantbenormal.com
• Follow Chanie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/
• Join the Schools of Excellence Lounge on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolsofexcellencelounge

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

If you've ever rebuilt the same staff training from scratch, paid for a speaker who inspired everyone for two weeks and then disappeared, or stayed up late wondering what to train on next — this episode is for you.

Chanie breaks down the four training patterns that keep school leaders stuck in activity instead of infrastructure, explains why most staff culture problems are predictable skill gaps (not personality issues), and introduces the Staff Culture Infrastructure Vault — a decade of field-tested, ready-to-use training assets available to only 100 schools before it's permanently retired.

In this episode:

• The four training traps and why none of them build lasting culture

• Why one-time events don't change behavior — and what actually does

• The teachable skills most teachers were never formally trained on

• What training infrastructure looks like and how to deploy it across your school year

Tune in and stop reinventing the wheel.

Resources Mentioned:

1. Get Chanie's book, This Can't Be Normal: https://thiscantbenormal.com
2. Explore the Staff Culture Infrastructure Vault: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/vault
3. Apply for Leadership HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/apply
4. Follow Chanie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/
5. Join the Schools of Excellence Lounge on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolsofexcellencelounge

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

If you've ever hesitated to invest in your team, this episode is for you.

It's not that you don't believe in professional development. It's that you've invested before, hoped before, and been disappointed before.

In this bonus episode I walk through the five specific fears that keep directors and owners from investing in their teams, and why every single one of them makes complete sense.

Because until you name what you're actually afraid of, you can't move past it.

Staff Culture Infrastructure Vault — https://schoolsofexcellence.com/vault

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

You've told them so many times. And nothing has changed. So what's actually going wrong?

In this episode, Chanie Wilschanski digs into the part of leadership that most school directors skip entirely: the messy middle between hiring and firing. She introduces the concept of drift, why it's inevitable in every team, and the four-step rhythm that brings everyone back to the standard.

• Why hiring and firing is often relief disguised as strategy
• The phrases leaders use that sound like leadership but are actually avoidance
• The Notice-Name-Install-Return rhythm for real-time leadership
• How to hold a direct, kind conversation about drifting behavior
• Why rhythm-based leadership builds culture that holds without you
• If you've ever caught yourself saying "I've told them so many times" — this episode is your next step.

Resources Mentioned:

• This Can't Be Normal: What to Do When Success Starts to Feel Like Survival by Chanie Wilschanski — available worldwide wherever books are sold: https://thiscantbenormal.com
• School Leadership HQ — apply for our ongoing leadership container: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/apply

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

What happens when the success you worked so hard to build starts to feel like survival?

In this episode, Chanie Wilschanski joins radio host Nachum Segal on JM in the AM to talk about her new book, This Can't Be Normal. They cover the invisible weight of school leadership, why burnout is a rhythm problem not a workload problem, and what it actually looks like to lead a school sustainably, without running yourself into the ground.

If you've ever wondered why leading well still feels so hard, this conversation is for you.

This Can't Be Normal: What to Do When Success Starts to Feel Like Survival by Chanie Wilschanski — available on Amazon, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, and wherever books are sold: https://thiscantbenormal.com

Listen to JM in the AM with Nachum Segal: https://www.nachumsegal.com/

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

What does it actually look like to triple your income, have your most profitable year ever, and still be home for dinner?

In this member spotlight, Chanie sits down with Aliyah Johnson Roberts — owner of two early childhood education centers in Philadelphia — to talk about the real story behind her growth. A few years ago, Aliyah was sitting in her office until six o'clock every evening, not because anyone needed her there, but because she had convinced herself she had to be.

Aliyah shares how she shifted from overfunctioning school owner to visionary CEO, and what that made possible, both inside her centers and at home.

If you're an early childhood education owner who knows you're meant for more but can't quite see how to get there, this episode is for you.

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

If a teacher called out tomorrow, do you know what it's actually costing your school? Not just money, your time, too.

In this bonus episode, Chanie breaks down why most call out policies collapse the moment pressure walks in the door, what it means to pressure test your school's infrastructure, and how to build a call out standard that holds even when you're short-staffed, short on sleep, and short on patience.

This one started as a Facebook Live, and the response was loud enough that it needed to be on the podcast.

Learn more about the Call Out Solution here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/callouts

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Your school isn't losing money because of bad teachers or wrong pricing. It's losing it in the patterns you've started to normalize.

Chanie Wilschanski breaks down four profit blind spots that quietly drain revenue from childcare centers and early childhood education schools — from the false comfort of high occupancy rates to the $100,000 follow-up mistake one school owner didn't see coming.

Get The Call Out Solution — A focused system to expose and fix one of the most common money leaks in childcare operations. Includes a cost calculator, training, and an installable standard to reduce call-outs and stabilize your staffing: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/callouts

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

School owner Charlie Marcotty spent nearly 29 years building something remarkable and then watched it fracture under the weight of rapid growth. Eight allegations, four directors in three months, 50% staff turnover. In this episode, Chanie breaks down exactly how Charlie came back from the edge using rhythm-based leadership and what that means for every school leader who feels like they're barely holding it all together.

If Charlie's story resonated, we'd love for you to:

1. Apply for Leadership HQ → https://schoolsofexcellence.com/apply
2. Grab the book → This Can't Be Normal atthiscanbenormal.com
3. Subscribe + leave a review it helps more school leaders find this content when they need it most
4. Share this episode with a school leader in your life who needs to hear it right now

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Summer enrollment feeling unpredictable? It's not about effort, it's about infrastructure. In this episode, Chanie Wilschanski breaks down why school leaders keep losing leads they already have, why families are waiting longer to commit, and what it actually looks like to build an enrollment system that converts delayed decisions and compounds over time. If enrollment feels reactive, this episode is for you.

Resources Mentioned:

Enrollment Engine: https://discovered.thrivecart.com/the-enrollment-engine-curriculum-only/

View Details

Every year, school owners sit down with their accountants and ask the same dangerous question. In this episode, Chanie explains why "what should I cut?" is a shrinking strategy, and walks you through where your school is actually leaking profit right now.

Resources + Links Mentioned:

Reclaim $2,000+/month by fixing the money leaks without adding enrollment in the Increase Your Profit Workshop: https://discovered.thrivecart.com/financial-gear-workshop

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Consistency sounds so simple. Show up. Do the thing. Repeat.

So why does it feel like standing at the edge of a cliff?

Consistency isn't boring. It's vulnerable. In this episode, Chanie Wilschanski explores why high-achieving school leaders resist steady rhythms, how perfectionism masquerades as inconsistency, and why return, not perfection, is what sustainable leadership is built on. If you've been doing the work and wondering why nothing seems to change yet, this one is for you.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• This Can't Be Normal: What to Do When Success Starts to Feel Like Survival available wherever books are sold: https://thiscantbenormal.com
• The Gratitude Rhythm — Episode 3 of the Schools of Excellence Podcast
• Brené Brown's TED Talk on Vulnerability

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

What if the warmth you've been leading with is quietly stalling your school's growth? In this episode, Chanie Wilschanski challenges the belief that empathy alone creates change — and unpacks why consequence, not punishment, is actually the key to predictable safety, reduced burnout, and a team that rises on its own. A must-listen for school leaders who are exhausted from holding everyone else.

Resources Mentioned:

1. This Can't Be Normal by Chanie Wilschanski — https://thiscantbenormal.com
2. Leadership HQ Membership — https://schoolsofexcellence.com/apply

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Every September feels like a fresh start. By March, it feels like everything is falling apart. If that cycle sounds familiar, this episode is going to reframe everything for you.

Chanie Wilschanski breaks down the real reason school leaders burn out every spring: heroics masquerading as infrastructure. She unpacks what real systems look like under pressure, introduces the five elements of infrastructure that every school leader needs, and gives you two practical moves to make right now — before summer — to stop the cycle.

In this episode, you'll learn:

1. Why heroics work in September but collapse by March — and what that tells you about your current systems
2. The five elements of real infrastructure: standards, ownership, rhythm, guardrails, and consequence
3. Why the skills that made you successful at one level become a liability at the next
4. The Gottman statistic that reframes how you think about school leadership problems
5. Two specific actions you can take this week to start closing your infrastructure gap
6. How to use your spring data to build a focused infrastructure plan this summer

RESOURCES & LINKS:

1. Register for the Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/workshop
2. Get Chanie's book, This Can't Be Normal: https://thiscantbenormal.com
3. Apply for Leadership HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/apply
4. Follow Chanie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/
5. Join the Schools of Excellence Lounge on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolsofexcellencelounge

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

March is the mid-year mirror for school leaders, and it's showing you exactly what needs to change before May amplifies everything. In this episode, Chanie Wilschanski breaks down the difference between circumstantial challenges and infrastructure problems, shares a three-question framework to identify your patterns, and walks you through exactly how to install the standards and ownership your school needs to finish the year strong.

Resources Mentioned:

1. Register for the Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/workshop
2. This Can't Be Normal (Chanie's book): https://thiscantbenormal.com
3. Leadership HQ Membership: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/apply

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

You finally exhaled. Things at school are good. The team is doing well. No fires. No panicked texts. No impossible parent meetings. And somehow, instead of leaning in, you quietly stepped back — because isn't that the goal?

This episode is rooted in the same rhythm-based leadership philosophy at the heart of my book, This Can't Be Normal: What to Do When Success Starts to Feel Like Survival, and it's one of the conversations I wish every school leader could hear before they disappear into a calm season without studying it first.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

1. Why calm seasons are actually your most important diagnostic window — not a break from leadership
2. The difference between "borrowed calm" and "built calm" — and how to tell which one you have
3. Why drift doesn't begin in chaos — it begins in calm, quietly, while you're not watching
4. What it really means when you "step back" and the team figures it out (and why it might not mean what you think)
5. The critical difference between absence and true leadership transfer
6. How to study your calm and turn one good season into a repeatable one
7. Why you cannot anchor yourself — and what to do instead

Resources & Links Mentioned:

1. This Can't Be Normal: What to Do When Success Starts to Feel Like Survival by Chanie Wilschanski — available wherever books are sold and at https://thiscantbenormal.com
2. Leadership HQ — Schools of Excellence membership program: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/apply

📘 Buy the book: This Can’t Be Normal: What to Do When Success Starts to Feel Like Survival

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Early childhood education promotes leaders faster than almost any other industry — and school leaders are paying the price.

In this episode, Chanie Wilschanski names a quiet but growing leadership crisis inside schools: teachers are promoted into leadership roles based on warmth, availability, and emotional labor — not relational stamina, discernment, or leadership infrastructure.

You’ll hear why early childhood lacks true leadership pipelines, how urgency and exhaustion drive premature promotions, and why titles alone don’t build capacity. Chanie breaks down what other industries do differently — and what school leaders must begin building now if they want leadership that’s steady, sustainable, and not built on survival.

This conversation is for school owners and leaders who promoted someone hoping for relief — and instead found themselves carrying even more weight.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

1. Why early childhood promotes leaders earlier than almost any other industry
2. The difference between emotional labor and leadership stamina
3. Why warmth and likability don’t equal leadership readiness
4. How premature promotion creates top-heavy leadership and invisible pressure
5. What discernment actually looks like in school leadership
6. Why mentorship and rhythms matter more than titles
7. How to stop passing emotional labor from one leader to the next

Key Insights

1. Emotional regulation is not leadership. Adults don’t grow through comfort — they grow through stamina.
2. Titles without capacity create collapse. Promoting without scaffolding only shifts the weight.
3. Discernment is a leadership muscle. It must be built through rhythm, mentorship, and exposure.
4. Infrastructure protects leaders. Systems, standards, and rhythms distribute pressure instead of concentrating it.

Memorable Quotes

1. “You cannot hug an adult into accountability.”
2. “We reward warmth without cultivating relational stamina.”
3. “Adults don’t grow through discomfort — they grow through stamina.”
4. “Titles change, but emotional labor doesn’t.”

Why This Matters for School Leaders

1. Prevents burnout caused by premature promotions
2. Creates leadership clarity instead of survival-based decisions
3. Protects owners from becoming the emotional shock absorber
4. Builds leadership capacity that holds under pressure
5. Replaces urgency with strategy and structure

Next Step

If today’s conversation named something you’ve felt but haven’t been able to articulate, you’re not behind — you’re seeing the system clearly.

👉 Purchase This Can’t Be Normal andstart exploring how school leaders can build leadership infrastructure that doesn’t rely on exhaustion. thiscantbenormal.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Hiring can feel like a test you’re supposed to pass.

You check references.

You trust your gut.

You believe in someone.

And then something happens — they struggle, disappoint you, drift, or leave suddenly.

And the messaging comes fast:

1. “The wrong hire is expensive.”
2. “You should have vetted better.”
3. “This is what happens when you trust too quickly.”

In this episode, Chanie Wilschanski names the toxic hiring myth school leaders are swimming in: the belief that if you hire the “right person,” the problems stop — and you can finally rest.

But hiring isn’t the moment you eliminate risk.

Hiring is the moment you agree to lead humanity.

This is not a tips-and-tricks episode. It’s a reality reset for school leaders who are tired of blaming themselves every time a hire doesn’t go exactly as planned — and ready to lead with steadier rhythms that can hold trust when life shows up.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn

1. The hiring myth that turns leadership into a moral test of your intelligence
2. Why “responsibility equals foresight” is a trap for school leaders
3. What hiring actually means — and what it never meant
4. Why you can’t interview for grief, stress, burnout, or life disruptions
5. The interview fallacy and why better questions won’t create safety
6. The difference between trusting once vs. building trust through rhythm
7. The three post-hire rhythms that create predictable safety:
8. Alignment rhythms
9. One-on-one rhythms
10. Rupture & repair rhythms

Hiring is a choice.

Leadership is a relationship.

And when we stop trying to choose our way out of relational work, we build school cultures that can hold both standards and humanity.

If this episode named something real — especially the invisible weight school leaders carry after a hire — This Can’t Be Normal is now available.

👉 Grab your copy today: thiscantbenormal.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Many school leaders reach a stage where things are “running.”

Schedules hold. Classrooms open. Systems work.

And yet — they’re still looped into decisions they thought were delegated.

In this episode of the Schools of Excellence Podcast, Chanie Wilschanski names the critical difference between a school that can run without its leader and a school that can think without its leader — and why most leadership burnout lives in that gap.

You’ll learn why delegation alone doesn’t create freedom, how discernment stays trapped inside the owner’s body, and what it actually takes to externalize thinking so leadership weight doesn’t default upward.

This conversation is especially for school leaders who feel tired even though they’re “not doing that much anymore.”

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. The difference between a school that runs and a school that thinks
2. Why leaders get pulled back in even after delegating well
3. What discernment really is — and why it can’t stay centralized
4. How leaders over-function without realizing it
5. Why rhythms (not reassurance) redistribute thinking
6. What has to be shared before leadership can truly step back

This episode reframes leadership freedom — not as leaving sooner, but as staying long enough to teach the school how to interpret reality without you.

If this episode named the invisible weight you’re carrying, you’re not behind — you’re in a stage most leaders don’t even realize exists.

You can download Chapter 1 of This Can’t Be Normal for free and read it privately, without pressure or urgency.

👉 Download Chapter 1: thiscantbenormal.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Leadership doesn’t unravel because you did something wrong.

It unravels because disruption is inevitable — and most school leaders were never taught what to return to when it arrives.

In this episode of the Schools of Excellence Podcast, This Can’t Be Normal author Chanie Wilschanski names the hidden forces that quietly destabilize even the strongest schools — after the systems are built, the team is capable, and the fires are mostly quiet.

Many school leaders reach a stage where things look good on paper… yet still feel fragile underneath. This episode explains why that tension exists — and why stability doesn’t come from tighter control, more systems, or more oversight.

You’ll learn the three disruptive forces that every school leader faces (and cannot prevent), why disruption isn’t a personal failure, and what mature leadership looks like when growth brings uncertainty instead of calm.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why strong systems alone don’t guarantee stability
2. The three disruptive forces that impact every school (earthquake, wind, fog)
3. Why disruption feels personal — even when it isn’t
4. What school leaders must return to when change destabilizes the team
5. How rhythms, not control, restore steadiness during growth

This conversation is for school leaders who have done “everything right” — and still feel the weight when change arrives.

If this episode named something you’ve felt but couldn’t articulate, you’re not alone.

You can download Chapter 1 of This Can’t Be Normal — free — and read it privately, slowly, and without urgency.

👉 Download Chapter 1: thiscantbenormal.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Many school leaders ask for consistency.

What they’re really asking is:

What holds when I’m tired?

In this episode of the Schools of Excellence podcast, Chanie explores why leadership often breaks down on ordinary days — not in moments of crisis — and why motivation, systems, and training alone can’t carry culture, standards, or accountability.

This conversation introduces one of the most important leadership distinctions:

Systems create structure.

Standards create clarity.

Only rhythms create safety.

You’ll hear:

1. Why leadership that depends on energy and motivation is unsustainable
2. What rhythms are — and what they are not
3. How predictable patterns shape behavior more than policies or explanations
4. Why teams follow what happens consistently, not what’s written
5. How rhythms reduce over-functioning and restore shared ownership
6. Why leaders often resist rhythms — and where real relief actually lives

If things only work when you’re watching, reminding, or rescuing, this episode will help you understand why and what’s missing.

📘 Download Chapter One of This Can’t Be Normal

Explore the deeper leadership patterns behind over-functioning, exhaustion, and invisible weight thiscantbenormal.com

View Details

School leaders are often told that clarity creates relief.

That once the systems are documented…

once the SOPs are written…

once the team is trained one more time…

then the weight will finally lift.

In this episode, Chanie Wilschanski names the quiet truth many school leaders are living inside of: training transfers knowledge—but it does not transfer ownership.

You haven’t failed leadership.

You didn’t miss a step.

You believed a promise that confused training with behavior change.

This conversation unpacks:

1. Why systems and SOPs don’t automatically change behavior
2. How “performing confusion” shows up on otherwise capable teams
3. Why leaders stay stuck answering questions, absorbing pressure, and carrying invisible weight
4. The difference between clarity and accountability
5. How patterns—not explanations—drive ownership
6. Why rest doesn’t come after training, but only when behavior actually shifts

If you’ve ever thought:

1. Why am I still holding this when I’ve explained it clearly?
2. Why does confusion keep showing up even after training?
3. Why does leadership still feel so heavy when the systems are in place?

This episode will help you name what’s really happening—and why nothing is “wrong” with you.

A Question to Sit WithInstead of asking: What else do I need to explain?

Try asking: What behavior am I protecting right now?

That question alone often reveals where ownership is being unintentionally redirected back to the leader.

Download Chapter One of This Can’t Be Normal

This episode is part of an ongoing conversation inspired by Chanie’s upcoming book:

This Can’t Be Normal

Chapter One is available now and offers language for leaders who:

1. Have trained their teams
2. Built the systems
3. And are still carrying the weight alone

You can download Chapter One for free at:

https://thiscantbenormal.com

The full book releases at the end of January.

There’s no urgency.

No fixing required.

Just language for what you may already be experiencing.

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

There is a role many school leaders step into long before they ever receive a title.

It’s the role of the strong one.

The steady one.

The one who handles it.

In this episode, Chanie explores the hidden cost of being the strong leader—the invisible emotional weight carried by school owners and leaders who learned early that being useful meant being safe, valued, and connected.

This conversation isn’t about burnout or failure. It’s about survival adaptations that once protected you, but may now be quietly costing you rest, connection, and being met as a human.

You’ll hear:

1. Why over-functioning is not a personality trait—but a learned survival strategy
2. How leadership responsibility slowly becomes identity
3. The invisible emotional labor school leaders carry that never shows up on an org chart
4. The difference between being essential and being chosen
5. Why strong leaders are often admired—but rarely supported
6. Gentle questions to help you notice where you’re still earning safety through giving

This episode is not a lesson and not a call to action.

It’s a place to sit.

A place to be honest.

A place to let something unnamed finally have language.

If parts of this conversation feel tender or emotional, that’s not a problem to solve. That’s information. And you don’t need to do anything with it right now.

If you want language for what you’re already carrying, Chapter One of Chanie’s upcoming book, This Can’t Be Normal, is available to read.

Download Chapter One: thiscantbenormal.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

There’s a moment in school leadership that rarely gets named.

It’s not burnout.

It’s not failure.

It’s not collapse.

It’s the quiet moment when everything looks “successful” on the outside — but something inside you feels tight, constricted, or unsustainable.

In this episode of the Schools of Excellence Podcast, Chanie opens a new conversation inspired by her upcoming book, This Can’t Be Normal. She invites school leaders to slow down and listen — not to fix, optimize, or pivot — but to notice what the signal is trying to say.

This episode is not a lesson.

It’s not a framework.

It’s a place to stand inside yourself for a few minutes without managing the truth.

If you’re a school owner, director, or leader who has learned to normalize pressure, sacrifice, and endurance — this conversation offers permission to stop arguing with the signal and let clarity emerge at its own pace.

In This Episode, You’ll Hear:

1. Why “success” can quietly start to feel like survival for school leaders
2. The difference between naming something and deciding what to do about it
3. How leaders learn to mute their own internal warning signals
4. Why clarity doesn’t come from moving faster — it comes from pausing
5. How creating space for truth restores leadership steadiness and discernment

A Reflection to Sit With

What if leadership feels heavy not because something is broken —

but because something true has gone unnamed for too long?

Resource Mentioned

If you want language for what you’re already experiencing, Chanie wrote Chapter One of her upcoming book specifically for leaders standing in this place.

You can download it here, if and when it feels right: https://thiscantbenormal.com

There’s no urgency.

No expectation.

Just an invitation to read slowly — or simply sit with the moment.

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

As 2025 comes to a close, many school leaders find themselves pausing and asking a quiet but important question:

How did we end up here?

In this episode of the Schools of Excellence Podcast, Chanie Wilschanski unpacks one of the most overlooked leadership challenges in schools, drift. Not burnout. Not laziness. But the subtle loss of alignment that happens when leaders lose connection to the rhythms and anchors that once kept them steady.

This conversation is especially for school owners, directors, and leadership teams who are preparing to step into 2026 and want to do so with clarity, steadiness, and intention — not pressure or performative “new year” resets.

Chanie introduces two distinct types of leadership drift that show up in schools:

1. Calm Drift — when things are going well, systems feel stable, enrollment is strong, and leaders quietly loosen the rhythms that protect culture, leadership, and sustainability.
2. Chaos Drift — when life, grief, stress, or operational overwhelm slowly erode boundaries, clarity, and leadership presence over time.

Rather than offering another system, checklist, or reset plan, this episode reframes excellence in leadership as the ability to return — again and again — to the rhythms that anchor school leaders through every season.

This is a grounding conversation about leadership, humanity, culture, and the systems that support sustainable growth in schools.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

1. Why drift is a normal part of leadership — even for strong, experienced school leaders
2. The difference between burnout, laziness, and leadership drift
3. How calm seasons can quietly lead to complacency if rhythms aren’t reinforced
4. Why chaotic seasons cause leaders to over-function and lose themselves over time
5. The role of rhythms (not perfection) in restoring clarity, confidence, and leadership presence
6. Why consistency in leadership is about return, not flawless execution
7. How anchored leadership protects culture, operations, and retention in schools
8. What school leaders should focus on before turning the calendar page to 2026

A Note for School Leaders

You don’t need a new plan.

You don’t need new software.

You don’t need to overhaul your systems.

What most school leaders need as they move from 2025 into 2026 is a return — to the rhythms that already work, the leadership standards they already know, and the anchors that keep their school steady through both calm and chaos.

Next Step for Leaders

If this conversation resonated and you want clarity around where your leadership — and your school, may be drifting, we invite you to start with awareness.

Take the 5 Gear Diagnostic

This free diagnostic helps school leaders identify which of the five core leadership gears — Enrollment, Financial Health, Staff Culture, Parent Engagement, or Strategic Growth needs attention right now.

Take the diagnostic here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/diagnostic

View Details

As the world slows down in the quiet space between years, Chanie invites school leaders into a powerful reflection:

What did this year build in you?

Not what you accomplished…

Not what you finished…

Not what you checked off the list…

But what was formed within you as a leader navigating exhaustion, momentum, setbacks, breakthroughs, culture challenges, enrollment pressures, financial strain, team transition, and the very real humanity of leadership.

In this deeply personal episode, Chanie shares her own journey through 2025 — a year that stretched her capacity, reshaped her identity as a leader, and forced her to develop new rhythms of discernment, emotional regulation, faith, marriage, health, and operational leadership.

And while the details are her own, the themes are universal for school leaders:

1. The invisible weight you carry
2. The pressure to remember everything
3. The instinct to manage every outcome
4. The exhaustion of holding everyone’s emotions
5. The desire for relief without guilt
6. The dance of relationships
7. The need for rhythms, not more systems

This episode is a mirror, reflecting back the capacity you’ve built this year, often without even noticing.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

The Leadership Lessons Inside a Full Year of Stretch

1. Why capacity is built in friction, stretch, and tension — not in ease
2. How slowing down becomes a leadership strategy, not a setback
3. The hidden emotional labor behind writing This Can’t Be Normal
4. What the Five Gears framework revealed about school operations and leadership
5. Why memory can’t be your leadership system — and how rhythms carry what your brain shouldn’t
6. How marriage, teams, and leadership all share the same “choreography” of conflict
7. What it means to return — and why trust is built in the return
8. How faith, steadiness, and presence become leadership anchors
9. The power of “living the question” instead of rushing toward clarity
10. Why you’re not behind — you’re in a season that’s building you

Key Insights for School Leaders

1. Capacity is being built right now — even if it feels messy.

Your stretch is the training ground for deeper leadership.

2. Rhythms protect your energy more than systems ever will.

This is the heart of SOE: predictable rhythms outperform reactive solutions.

3. Slowing down keeps you steady — it never means you’re behind.

Hustle creates fragility. Rhythm builds resilience.

4. Your team, parents, and spouse all have a “dance” with you.

Awareness of that choreography is how you change the cycle.

5. You don’t have to fix everything.

Leadership at the next level is learning what to put down.

6. Trust is built in the return.

Not in being right. Not in solving the conflict. But in coming back.

Memorable Quotes

“Writing didn’t just give me a book. It gave me back to myself.”

“Slowing down never means I’m behind. It keeps me steady and anchored.”

“What this year built in me is the same thing it builds in leaders—capacity.”

“You can laugh when a launch flops. You can breathe when a plan unravels. That’s rhythm.”

“This year didn’t break you. It built you.”

Why This Episode Matters for School Leaders

Because leadership isn’t built in the moments where everything runs smoothly.

It’s built in the:

1. tough staffing seasons
2. enrollment dips
3. financial pressure
4. parent tensions
5. culture resets
6. fatigue cycles
7. identity shifts
8. personal grief
9. unresolved questions

This episode grounds you in one truth:

You are being built. Even here. Even now.

Before stepping into 2026 with new goals, new projects, or new expectations, Chanie invites you to pause long enough to see what this year already built inside of you — the capacity, clarity, discernment, tenderness, and strength you’ll need for the next season.

Next Step for Leaders

Want clarity on which leadership gear needs attention as you head into the new year?

Take the free 5 Gears of School Leadership Diagnostic: schoolsofexcellence.com/diagnostic

This will give you a clear starting point, rooted in data, not pressure — so you can step into 2026 grounded, not overwhelmed.

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Most school owners aren’t losing money because of one major expense.

They're losing money in the quiet places—the small operational habits, the unspoken “just this once” purchases, and the daily micro-decisions no one sees.

These are money leaks—and they drain profit, capacity, and emotional bandwidth far more than leaders realize.

In this episode, Chanie shares a short but powerful clip from HQ member Nikki, who took the Money Leaks Diagnostic and used one simple rhythm—not an overhaul—to cut her supply costs by 50% in 90 days.

But the deeper transformation is even more important:

She stopped carrying the financial stress alone.

Her team stepped into real ownership.

Her assistant director found confidence she hadn't trusted in herself for years.

And the entire school strengthened its financial gear.

This episode is a reminder that financial health is deeply connected to culture, leadership, and operational rhythms—not just spreadsheets.

If you want a school that runs with more clarity, less reactivity, and stronger team buy-in, this conversation will open your eyes to what's possible.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode Why most schools lose money through leaks, not large expenses * How simple rhythms—not complex systems*—create predictable financial stability * The connection between financial health and team culture * How to establish a supply baseline that restores clarity and reduces waste * Why teachers and support staff play a role in every single gear, including financials * How ownership develops when leaders stop holding everything alone * The emotional relief that comes from shifting financial responsibility from “me” to “we”

Key Insights for School Leaders

1. Money leaks are leadership problems, not budgeting problems.

They're symptoms of unclear rhythms, inconsistent expectations, and leaders carrying operational details alone.

2. Stability is built through small, predictable systems.

Not dramatic overhauls—just rhythms your team can trust and repeat.

3. Every team member influences your financial gear.

When teachers understand usage, they naturally make different decisions.

4. Ownership grows when leaders step back.

Nikki’s story shows how powerful it is when a leader stops rescuing and starts equipping.

Memorable Quotes

• “Most leaders don’t need more money. They need fewer leaks.”
• “You don’t fix financial stress by working harder—you fix it by installing a rhythm that everyone can follow.”
• “Every person in your building is part of every gear. Financial health is a team sport.”
• “Relief doesn’t come from overhauling your school. It comes from sharing the weight.”

Why This Matters for Your School

A school with constant money leaks will always feel behind—financially, emotionally, and operationally.

When you strengthen this gear:

✓ Your team takes more ownership

✓ Your spending becomes predictable

✓ Your systems stabilize

✓ Your culture strengthens

✓ Your leadership becomes lighter

This isn’t about cutting corners.

It’s about aligning your people, your systems, and your rhythms so your school can breathe again.

Take the Next Step

If you want to identify your biggest leaks and begin plugging them immediately:

Take the Money Leaks Diagnostic schoolsofexcellence.com/moneyleaks

This diagnostic will show you exactly where money is slipping through the cracks — and give you a clear starting point for strengthening your school’s financial health without working harder.

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Every school leader drifts, even the strongest ones.

Drift is not burnout, not laziness, and not a leadership flaw. It is one of the quietest, most human forces in leadership. And it shows up long before leaders ever realize they’re off course.

In this powerful episode, Chanie unpacks the two forms of leadership drift, Calm Drift and Chaos Drift, and reveals why both are inevitable, expected, and deeply human. More importantly, she explains the one skill every school leader needs:

The ability to return.

Because leadership strength isn’t measured by how perfectly you stay on track.

Leadership strength is your capacity to return to your anchors, your rhythms, your clarity, and your truth.

Inside this episode, you’ll discover:

What Drift Really Is (and What It Isn’t)

• Drift is not burnout — burnout is depletion.
• Drift is not laziness — laziness is apathy.
• Drift is the slow, subtle loss of connection to the rhythms that steady you.

The Two Types of Drift

1. Calm Drift:

The most dangerous form — when enrollment is strong, your team is stable, and systems are flowing. This comfort lulls leaders into relaxing their anchors, easing up on rhythms, and slipping into complacency without even noticing.

2. Chaos Drift:

When overwhelm, grief, or nonstop crisis slowly erode your routines, boundaries, health, and identity. It’s not dramatic at first — it’s the slow, quiet unraveling of “just one more thing.”

Why Drift Happens to Every Leader

Because leadership is human work.

And humans will always drift out of alignment through pressure, success, grief, or comfort.

The Path Back: Return

You don’t need a fresh start, a January reset, another software, or a new checklist.

You need to return.

Return to the rhythms that keep you anchored.

Return to the small practices that restore clarity.

Return to the version of you that leads with presence, steadiness, and grounded confidence.

Key School Leadership Themes You’ll Hear

• Why systems require perfection — but rhythms allow humanity
• How calm seasons can create complacency and drift
• Why chaos drift drains your identity slowly and quietly
• How rhythms become your “way home” in every season
• Why consistency is not perfection — it is the willingness to return
• How your anchors carry you through both storms and success
• Why leaders don’t need more systems — they need sustainable rhythms

If you've been feeling off, foggy, tired, or disconnected — this episode will feel like a deep breath and a gentle nudge back to yourself.

If today’s episode made you realize you’ve drifted, whether in calm or chaos, start by identifying which part of your school’s foundation needs attention.

Take the 5 Gear Diagnostic at schoolsofexcellence.com/diagnostic

It’s the fastest way to see which gear is sticking and what rhythm to return to next.

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

Leadership in early childhood has long been treated like an “extra,” a bonus you get after the fires are out and the classrooms are staffed.

But here’s the truth:

Leadership development isn’t a perk.

It’s the job.

Because calm doesn’t grow you, discomfort does.

In this episode, Chanie names a trap many school owners fall into: waiting for life to “settle down” before investing in their own growth. But settled never comes. Systems will always need refining, enrollment will always ebb and flow, team members will always cycle — and your center needs a leader who is growing while leading, not after everything is perfect.

Inside this conversation, Chanie breaks down:

What You’ll Learn

• Why comfort creates complacency, but discomfort builds capacity
• The cycle school leaders get stuck in: conditional growth (“once things calm down…”)
• How one owner shifted from task-completion to capacity-building, transforming her entire leadership team’s culture
• Why professional development is oxygen, not dessert
• The difference between intensity bursts and predictable development rhythms
• How your growth becomes the ceiling, or the expansion, of your team
• Why sustainable leadership is built on consistency, not perfection

Chanie also shares real examples from the field, the predictable patterns that show up in every school’s culture, and the practical rhythm shifts that move leaders out of survival mode and into mastery.

If you want to grow your school, you must grow you.

Because your team will not outgrow you, they grow through you.

Resources Mentioned

✔️ Take the Money Leaks Diagnostic

Identify where your school is unintentionally losing profit and begin building the rhythms that stabilize your financial health.

👉 schoolsofexcellence.com/moneyleaks

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for the free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

View Details

You can’t call in tired when you’re the leader.

Even on the days when your body aches, your brain is foggy, and every text feels like one more demand — leadership still needs you. Parents still email. Licensing still calls. Staff still need direction.

And in that fatigue, it’s easy to believe the lie: I just need a break. I just need a new system. I just need to get through this week.

But energy isn’t something you find. It’s something you create.

In this deeply personal episode, Chanie unpacks what it means to create energy on demand — not from caffeine or quiet, but from rhythm, breath, and emotional containment. She shares how leaders can shift from guarding what’s left to generating what’s needed, and how to stop being the emotional battery for everyone around you.

If you’ve ever said “I’m just so tired,” this episode will help you see that your exhaustion isn’t from doing too much — it’s from holding too much.

You’ll Learn

• Why you’re not one vacation or system away from feeling alive
• The truth about emotional fatigue and over-holding
• How to reframe your story and create energy in the middle of chaos
• The science of energy creation and how your body chemistry responds to posture and language
• How to install transition rhythms between work and home
• Why “protecting your energy” keeps you in survival mode — and how to shift to creation mode
• Simple morning, end-of-day, and transition rhythms that restore peace and focus

Key Insights

• “You’re not exhausted because you’re doing too much. You’re exhausted because you’re holding too much.”
• “Energy isn’t found in quiet. It’s created through rhythm.”
• “You don’t need rest to be restored — you need rhythm to be renewed.”
• “You are not a battery pack to be drained. You are a lighthouse — a generator of light and calm.”

Memorable Quotes

“Waiting for energy is like waiting for clarity — it never comes until you take action.”

“You don’t protect energy. You create it.”

“You close your laptop not because the work is done — but because the day is.”

“Leadership still needs you when you’re tired, but you’re not powerless. You can create energy, on demand.”

Reflection Prompts

1. Where are you still acting as the emotional battery for others?
2. What transition rhythm would help you leave work restored instead of depleted?
3. How can you practice creating energy through breath, posture, or language this week?

Episode Resources

• Pre-order Chanie’s new book This Can’t Be Normal — coming soon
• Take the 5 Gear Diagnostic to identify which area of your leadership is most drained — Enrollment, Staff Culture, Parent Engagement, Financial Health, or Strategic Growth. schoolsofexcellence.com/diagnostic

View Details

If your brain feels like a filing cabinet that never closes, you’re not alone.

For many school leaders, memory becomes the hidden system — the thing holding birthdays, licensing dates, parent notes, staff needs, and the million invisible details that make your school run. But here’s the truth: your brain was never meant to be the system.

In this powerful, personal episode, Chanie shares how her once-reliable memory began to fail — and how that moment became the turning point for her leadership. Forgetting wasn’t a crisis; it was clarity. It revealed that her business had outgrown her brain and was ready for real systems and rhythms that could carry the weight sustainably.

If you’ve ever said, “I just have to remember to…” — this episode will help you see why forgetting is not failure. It’s a signal that your leadership is evolving.

You’ll Learn

• Why memory-based leadership leads to burnout and anxiety
• How your brain becomes a false “system” when trust in processes is low
• Why stress pokes holes in memory — and what to build instead
• How rhythms create psychological safety and operational stability
• How to shift from mental management to systemized leadership
• Practical examples of where you may be leading from memory (and how to stop)
• How to trust your systems and rhythms — even when it feels uncomfortable

Key Insights

• “Your brain and your memory are not the system. Systems and rhythms hold excellence at scale.”
• “The brain is for having ideas, not holding them.”
• “Forgetting isn’t failure — it’s feedback that your leadership is ready to evolve.”
• “When you lead from rhythm instead of recall, you build peace into your operations.”

Memorable Quotes

“My memory made me feel safe. But safety doesn’t come from remembering — it comes from trusting the rhythm.”

“Your leadership isn’t breaking down. It’s breaking open — to a simpler, more sustainable way to lead.”

“Forgetting wasn’t the problem. It was the most generous wake-up call from God.”

“The brain is for having ideas, not holding them. Systems are what keep those ideas alive.”

Reflection Prompts

1. Where in your leadership are you still using your memory as a safety net?
2. What’s one area where you could install a rhythm to replace recall?
3. How does over-reliance on your brain create invisible weight in your day?
4. What would it look like to trust your systems — even when your instinct is to double-check?

Episode Resources

• Learn more about Chanie’s upcoming book This Can’t Be Normal, where she unpacks how rhythms replace over-functioning and burnout.
• Take the 5 Gear Diagnostic to identify which area of your leadership carries the most invisible weight — Enrollment, Staff Culture, Parent Engagement, Financial Health, or Strategic Growth. schoolsofexcellence.com/diagnostic

View Details

In early childhood education, it’s easy to feel like marketing changes faster than you can keep up. But the truth is, while tactics evolve, the fundamentals of trust, rhythm, and authenticity never go out of style.

In this episode, Chanie sits down with longtime friend and industry leader Nick Williams, CEO of Childcare Business Growth, to discuss the timeless marketing strategies that stand the test of time.

They explore how to create authentic content, follow up with confidence, and use AI and systems to reclaim your time — all while staying true to your school’s values and mission.

If you’ve ever felt like your marketing is a moving target, this episode will help you return to the anchors that actually drive enrollment.

You’ll Learn

• Why authenticity always outperforms the latest trend
• How to position yourself as the local expert families trust
• The power of consistent follow-up rhythms in enrollment
• How to centralize communication without losing personal connection
• The role of AI in buying back time and simplifying marketing systems
• How to track baselines and lead sources to make smarter decisions
• Why clarity on your values attracts your ideal families
• How to stay ahead of change without losing your focus

Key Insights

• “Sales is service. You’re not pushing — you’re inviting families into something that matters.”
• “If you want consistent enrollment, follow up on the platforms your parents actually use.”
• “There’s no money in being neutral. Your values are your magnet.”
• “AI should help you work smarter, not harder. Use it to reclaim time for leadership.”

Memorable Quotes

“Marketing doesn’t need to be frantic — it needs to be rhythmic.” — Chanie Wilschanski

“Be authentic. Be visible. Be the local expert. That’s timeless marketing.” — Nick Williams

“The best marketing strategy isn’t about chasing trends — it’s about building systems that keep working while you lead.” — Chanie Wilschanski

Reflection Prompts

1. Which part of your marketing is built on rhythm — and which still feels reactive?
2. Are your systems making your brand more human or more complicated?
3. What would it look like to be known as the trusted local expert in your community?

Episode Resources

• Explore Nick’s work at childcarebusinessgrowthlive.com

Take the Schools of Excellence 5 Gear Diagnostic to identify your biggest growth opportunity in:

Enrollment, Staff Culture, Parent Engagement, Financial Health, or Strategic Growth 👉 schoolsofexcellence.com/diagnostic

View Details

Leadership is heavy in ways no one talks about.

We expect long hours, enrollment pressure, staff turnover, and parent demands — but the invisible weight of leadership isn’t in the spreadsheets. It’s in the emotions, expectations, and energy you absorb every day.

In this powerful conversation, Chanie redefines burnout and exposes why the “fix-it-fast” advice doesn’t work. Because burnout doesn’t come from working too hard, it comes from becoming the system.

If you’ve been the leader who holds everyone else’s fear, absorbs everyone’s disappointment, and smiles while suffocating inside, this episode is your permission to stop.

Learn how to trade survival for sustainability by building rhythms that distribute the weight, not systems that keep you holding it all.

Join the live workshop, Delegation Isn’t the Finish Line: Ownership Is to learn how to build rhythms that hold you steady.

Register at: schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation

What You’ll Learn

• Why traditional definitions of burnout miss the real cause
• The difference between working hard and becoming the system
• Why “fix-it-fast” solutions (like pizza parties) don’t actually work
• How to identify invisible labor, and stop carrying what’s not yours
• The power of rhythms to distribute emotional and operational weight
• What it means to be an “all-seasons leader” — not just calm-weather leadership

Key Insights

• Burnout doesn’t chase weakness — it preys on competence.
• The body keeps score when you carry what’s not yours to hold.
• You don’t need to get stronger — you need to be held.
• Systems alone can’t save you; rhythms sustain you.
• Calm isn’t forever. Leadership is who you are under pressure.

Memorable Quotes

“Burnout isn’t working too hard, it’s becoming the system.”

“If burnout can find you because you’re extraordinary, then rhythms can hold you because you’re extraordinary.”

“You don’t need to get stronger. You need to be held.”

“Leadership isn’t what happens in the calm. It’s who you are when the pressure knocks.”

Reflection Prompts

1. Where are you holding what isn’t yours to hold?
2. What invisible weight are you carrying for your team or school?
3. What would change if your leadership wasn’t a solo sport?

Next Step

Take the Schools of Excellence 5 Gear Diagnostic to identify your biggest growth opportunity in: Enrollment, Staff Culture, Parent Engagement, Financial Health, or Strategic Growth 👉 schoolsofexcellence.com/diagnostic

View Details

When Irene Gomez stepped into her role as director at the J Center for Early Learning in El Paso, Texas, she carried what so many new leaders do: hyper-responsibility, people-pleasing, and the pressure to be the “hero” in every situation.

In this episode, Irene shares her journey inside the Schools of Excellence coaching program and the transformation that followed—from chasing fires and working late nights, to leading with clarity, boundaries, and trust.

You’ll hear how a calendar became her leadership lifeline, how gratitude reshaped her staff culture, and how self-trust shifted her from over-functioning into a confident leader who now builds sustainable rhythms for her team and balance for her family.

This isn’t just a story of better systems. It’s a story of reclaiming identity, building trust, and choosing to lead without sacrificing health or home.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why boundaries start with the leader, not with the staff
• How shifting from “hero” to CEO changes your school culture
• The role of one-on-one meetings in building trust and career growth for teachers
• Why specific gratitude builds safety and resilience in teams
• How leadership growth impacts marriage, parenting, and personal life
• Why coaching is never “one more thing”—it’s the foundation of sustainable leadership

Key Insights

• Boundaries are for you first. Without them, you’ll always default to rescuing instead of leading.
• Culture starts with trust. One-on-ones and specific gratitude create safety for real conversations.
• You can’t hustle your way to sustainability. Systems and rhythms—not over-functioning—are what hold schools together.
• Personal growth multiplies. When leaders evolve, staff mirror that same growth in respect, empowerment, and culture.

Memorable Quotes

• “The boundaries weren’t just for others—they were for me.” – Irene Gomez
• “True success is having a strong team that wants to stay forever.” – Irene Gomez
• “Enough isn’t about getting ahead. It’s about trusting that what you did today was enough.” – Chanie Wilschanski

Why This Matters for School Leaders

• Ends the cycle of firefighting and hyper-responsibility
• Builds cultures of trust where staff thrive and turnover decreases
• Protects leaders’ health, marriage, and family time
• Shows how leadership coaching transforms not just schools, but lives

Resources & Next Steps

• Reflect: Where in your leadership are you holding on to hyper-responsibility?
• Audit your staff culture: Are you building trust, or chasing harmony?
• Share this episode with a fellow leader who feels stuck in people-pleasing

Ready to stop holding everything together alone? Book your Leadership Reset Consultation—a 90-minute strategy session that gives you a 30-day roadmap to build rhythms your team will actually own. Learn more here.

View Details

If you’ve ever thought, “It’s just easier if I do it myself,” or found yourself ready to “burn it all down” after one too many hand-holding moments—this episode is for you.

In this solo episode, Chanie Wilschanski exposes the false binary so many school leaders get trapped in: over-functioning or giving up entirely. Through real client stories, she unpacks how these extremes are both driven by the same craving for instant relief—and how true leadership means learning to live in the messy middle.

You’ll hear how one owner, “Sarah,” learned to hold her team accountable without lowering standards, what happens when you trade to-do lists for calendars, and why grace never means abandoning expectations.

This conversation is packed with practical wisdom for leaders who are tired of doing it all, frustrated that delegation still feels heavy, and ready to build rhythms of ownership instead of cycles of exhaustion.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• The real reason leaders oscillate between over-functioning and firing everyone
• Why to-do lists create comfort but calendars create clarity and accountability
• How to show grace without lowering your standards
• The difference between outsourcing and ownership
• Why “getting ahead” is often avoidance disguised as productivity
• How to right-size the load while keeping standards visible

Key Insights

• Comfort isn’t clarity. A private to-do list may feel safe—but a calendar makes priorities visible, reviewable, and real.
• Grace ≠ lowered standards. True grace adjusts the load, not the expectation.
• Instant relief leads to instability. Sustainable leadership requires tolerating discomfort while building systems and rhythms.
• Outsourcing is temporary relief; ownership is transformation.

Memorable Quotes

“Comfort over clarity is not leadership—it’s avoidance.” – Chanie Wilschanski

“Grace never means lowering the standard. You right-size the load while keeping the standard visible.” – Chanie Wilschanski

“Outsourcing brings relief. Ownership builds leadership.” – Chanie Wilschanski

“When you complain about doing something, it just means you need more reps.” – Chanie Wilschanski

Why This Matters for School Leaders

• Helps leaders recognize and break the over-functioning vs. burnout cycle
• Teaches practical ways to build accountability without micromanaging
• Reinforces the connection between standards, systems, and sustainable leadership
• Empowers leaders to replace chaos with structure—and delegation with ownership

Resources & Next Steps

• Audit your leadership rhythms: Where are you over-functioning or lowering standards?
• Define your school’s standards—what’s visible, measurable, and consistent?
• Replace your team’s to-do lists with a shared calendar rhythm this week.

Ready to delegate without burning out? Join Chanie’s Delegation Workshop to learn the exact scripts, standards, and systems that make it work:

👉 schools of excellence.com/delegation

View Details

Scaling is glorified in our culture. In early childhood education, that often means opening more schools, adding more classrooms, and constantly chasing “what’s next.” But is that the only way to define success?

In this episode of the Schools of Excellence Podcast, Chanie Wilschanski sits down with Latrice Crawford, known as The Child Care Chick, to talk about the overlooked power of scaling with one location. Latrice shares how she built Kidsville Learning Academy into a multimillion-dollar school that has sustained for 18 years without expanding into multiple sites.

This conversation dives into the foundation of sustainable leadership: mindset, systems, culture, and defining what’s truly “enough.” You’ll hear Latrice’s powerful story of burnout and breakthrough, how she shifted from operator to CEO, and why her definition of success is rooted in peace, values, and sustainability.

If you’ve ever felt the pressure to open “just one more” location, or you’re struggling to sustain the school you already have, this episode will show you another path to growth—one rooted in clarity, culture, and deep alignment.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why scaling doesn’t have to mean opening more schools
• The foundation school leaders often skip—and why it leads to burnout
• The mindset shift from operator to CEO
• How to invest in your team so they sustain without you holding everything
• Why defining “enough” is critical to long-term success
• How to filter opportunities through your values and vision

Key Insights

• Sustainability is scale. Long-term thriving in one school can build wealth, culture, and community impact.
• Foundations matter. Hustle and charisma cannot replace systems, rhythms, and leadership infrastructure.
• Enough is a filter. Defining what is “enough” keeps you aligned when opportunities (and distractions) come knocking.
• Your health and peace are part of the equation. Burnout is not the price of success.

Memorable Quotes

• “Scaling isn’t about adding more schools—it’s about sustaining the one you already have.” – Latrice Crawford
• “Enough is not a finish line. It’s a feeling of integrity.” – Chanie Wilschanski
• “Don’t fear if your staff leave after you invest in them. Fear what happens if they stay and you never do.” – Latrice Crawford

Why This Matters for School Leaders

• Helps leaders redefine success beyond growth at all costs
• Protects culture, peace, and sustainability by focusing on depth, not constant expansion
• Empowers leaders to filter opportunities through values instead of external pressure
• Provides a model for scaling to millions with one school

Resources & Next Steps

• Define your personal and leadership definition of “enough”
• Audit your school’s foundations: Are you building on systems, or on hustle?
• Share this episode with a fellow school leader wrestling with pressure to expand

Ready to stop holding everything together alone? Book your Leadership Reset Consultation—a 90-minute strategy session that gives you a 30-day roadmap to build rhythms your team will actually own. Learn more here.

View Details

Leadership doesn’t pause for grief, betrayal, or personal storms. In this deeply vulnerable conversation, Chanie sits down with Beth Cannon to talk about what it means to lead when life unravels. From walking through the terminal illness of a loved one, to staff exits and leadership mistakes, Beth shares her “discomfort zone” season and the messy middle of showing up for her people while falling apart inside.

This episode is not about perfection, it’s about presence. It’s about choosing honesty over image, showing up when you don’t have it all together, and finding systems and rhythms that carry your school (and your soul) through seasons of chaos.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:* Why “waiting until everything is perfect” is leadership avoidance * How to keep showing up when grief and business crises collide * The difference between accountability and ownership in staff leadership * Why leaders must choose honesty over image if they want trust and culture to hold * How to find outer-circle people who can lead you through your own fo

Key Insights Culture isn’t built on polish. It’s built on consistency, clarity, and shared standards. * Grief and leadership can coexist. You can hold heartbreak in one hand and still lead with purpose in the other. * Leadership is a mirror. Staff accountability gaps often expose where owners haven’t built the right rhythms. * You don’t wait for perfect conditions.* Growth happens in the middle of the storm, not after it passes.

Memorable Quotes* “I wasn’t replacing a role. I was reacting to a wound.” – Beth Cannon * “You have to choose honesty over image, because the day when everything is perfect doesn’t exist.” – Beth Cannon * “Schools don’t need leaders who wait for the fog to clear. They need leaders who keep walking.” – Chanie Wilschanski

Why This Matters for School Leaders* Stops the cycle of waiting for perfect conditions before leading * Models vulnerability without abdicating responsibility * Builds staff trust through honesty and accountability, not polish * Anchors leaders in rhythms that hold during grief, betrayal, or transition

Resources & Next Steps Reflect: Where are you waiting for things to “settle” before you lead? * Revisit your staff accountability systems: Are they true ownership, or excuses and follow-up cycles? * Connect with Beth Cannon: bethcannonspeaks.com | Instagram & Facebook: @bethcannonspeaks*

View Details

Admin & Tech isn’t flashy like enrollment or emotional like staff culture—but it’s one of the biggest hidden profit drains in schools. In this finale of the Money Leaks series, Chanie breaks down how underutilized software, paper-based SOPs, missing automations, and messy file systems quietly torch your time capacity and cash. You’ll get a simple, CEO-level playbook to audit your tech stack, automate the right tasks, assign platform “champions,” and build rhythms that stop dependency and start true scalability.

👉 Take the free diagnostic mentioned in this episode: schoolsofexcellence.com/moneyleaks

What You’ll Learn

• The 5 Admin & Tech pillars that protect profit (workflows, utilization, automation, data & file systems, review rhythms)
• How to audit your tech stack and cut redundancies without chaos
• Why automation doesn’t replace people—it gives them back time for what only humans can do
• The “internal platform champion” model that prevents bottlenecks and builds team capacity
• A simple naming convention + 10-second file-finding standard that ends “final-final-FINAL-v6” madness
• How to move from dependency (it only works when Sarah’s here) to system (it works when anyone follows the rhythm)

SOE Playbook: 5 Concrete Moves

1. Run a Software Audit (30–45 min): List every tool, owner, cost, and actual use. Cancel redundancies, downgrade unused premium plans, and standardize what stays.
2. Assign Platform Champions: One trained “owner” per platform. Share quick wins, create 1-page SOPs, and stop knowledge hoarding.
3. Automate Repetitive Admin: Scheduling, reminders, links, confirmations, form routing, basic onboarding steps. Free people for gratitude, 1:1s, observations, feedback—the work only humans can do.
4. Lock File Hygiene: Cloud-first, consistent naming, and a structure anyone can understand. Measure success by: “Can someone find any file in ≤10 seconds?”
5. Quarterly Rhythm Block: Every 90 days: review tools, subscriptions, automations, and workflows. One block. Same calendar slot. Always.

Case Studies & Wins

• Sonia’s Tech Tangle → $4,000 Saved: She listed 19 tools; canceled 5–7 redundant platforms, downgraded others, and named champions for the rest—saving nearly $4K/year and loads of time capacity.
• The $9,000 Surprise: A leader who “couldn’t afford it” did a money leaks audit, canceled 3 subscriptions, and freed up $9,000—just by telling the truth in the tech stack.

Memorable Lines

• “If it takes more than 10 seconds to find a file, you have a leak—not a library.”
• “Dependency isn’t a system. It’s a risk.”
• “Automation isn’t about replacing people—it’s about returning time to the work only humans can do.”
• “When someone leaves, the brain of your business shouldn’t walk out with them.”

Resources

Free diagnostic: schoolsofexcellence.com/moneyleaks

View Details

Your Amazon bill isn’t proof of overspending, it’s proof of a missing rhythm.

In this fifth episode of the Six Money Leaks series, Chanie uncovers why supply management is one of the most overlooked operational leaks in schools. From the toner that’s reordered twice in a week to the “just in case” stockpiles that clutter closets, poor systems quietly drain thousands of dollars and create chaos for your team.

You’ll hear how one school leader cut supply costs by 50%, not by cutting corners, but by building rhythms of accountability, teacher ownership, and smarter purchasing strategies. Chanie explains how strong leaders use systems to bring predictability to supplies, just as they do in staff culture, enrollment, and every other gear of sustainable growth.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why supply challenges aren’t spending issues, they’re system issues
• The five pillars of supply management: inventory, seasonal planning, equipment lifecycle, vendor strategy, and storage organization
• How to create baselines that give you real data on usage and costs
• The role of leadership rhythms in preventing waste and burnout
• Practical steps to cut costs without sacrificing quality or culture

Key Insights

• Leadership is stewardship. Systems, not sticky notes, are what protect your budget and your team’s time.
• Culture is built in the details. When supplies are predictable, teachers feel supported and operations run smoothly.
• Growth requires optimization. Scaling isn’t about more—it’s about refining what you already have.

Why This Matters for School Leaders

When supply management runs on chaos, leaders end up overspending, overfunctioning, and burning out. When it runs on systems, leaders free capacity for strategy, teams feel supported, and operations hold under pressure.

Resources & Next Steps

Download the free Money Leaks Diagnostic and assess your school’s supply systems: schoolsofexcellence.com/moneyleaks

View Details

Pizza at staff meetings. Coffee for PD days. Uber Eats orders that feel small at the moment. These choices come from generosity, but without systems, they quickly become one of the biggest hidden drains on your budget.

In this fourth episode of the Six Money Leaks series, Chanie Wilschanski explains why leaders don’t have food budget problems, they have food system problems. You’ll learn how to build baselines, create seasonal rhythms, and plan for the actual people you serve, so generosity strengthens culture without draining profit.

Through real stories from school leaders, Chanie shows how small adjustments in food management save thousands, reduce waste, and create sustainable rhythms of appreciation.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode* Why “spend as little as you can” is not a budget * How to calculate your baseline with receipts and real data * Why food budgets must shift seasonally with enrollment, staffing, and culture rhythms * How to prevent waste by planning for allergies, sensitivities, and actual headcount * The difference between indulgent overspending and intentional generosity

Key Insights Generosity needs guardrails. Without systems, your kindness works against you. * Data builds confidence. Leaders negotiate budgets best when they bring baselines, not guesses. * Culture thrives on intention.* Food can build connection and trust when it’s planned with clarity. * Why This Matters for School Leaders

Your staff and students deserve abundance. But abundance without systems creates chaos, waste, and guilt around spending. Food control isn’t about being stingy—it’s about building rhythms that protect your financial health and your culture.

Resources & Next StepsDownload the free Money Leaks Diagnostic and assess your school’s food systems: schoolsofexcellence.com/moneyleaks

View Details

Payment problems aren’t about “bad parents.” They’re about broken systems.

In this episode of the Schools of Excellence podcast, Chanie exposes the hidden money leak that’s quietly draining schools: payment systems. From failed cards and ignored invoices to outdated agreements and manual chasing, every gap in your tuition process pulls focus and drains energy.

You’ll hear real client stories, from a $15,000 recovery in failed payments to a 90% drop in late tuition within one billing cycle and walk away with practical steps to finally stop chasing money and start leading with clarity.

If you’re tired of payroll Fridays filled with stress and spreadsheets, this conversation will help you install systems that protect your cash flow, your culture, and your peace of mind.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why most tuition issues are about systems, not parents
• The #1 step to immediately reduce late payments
• How to install a proactive collection process (not a “hope and faith” system)
• The role of late fees in protecting your standards and cash flow
• Why payment agreements must be reviewed and stored digitally

Key Insights

• Broken payment systems = hidden money leaks.
• Hope is not a collection system. Predictability is.
• Enforcing policies isn’t mean, it protects your staff and your culture.
• Outdated agreements open the door for confusion and chaos.

Memorable Quotes

• “If you’re still chasing tuition, you don’t have a payment system, you have a hope and faith system.”
• “Late fees aren’t punishment. They’re protection for your cash flow and your peace of mind.”
• “Your agreements aren’t set-and-forget. They’re living guardrails that protect your school.”

Why This Matters for School Leaders

• Stops financial chaos from undermining your leadership
• Creates consistent, predictable revenue
• Protects your time, energy, and staff trust
• Moves you from reaction to rhythm

Resources & Next Steps

• Require auto-pay at enrollment (make one-time payment the default)
• Create a 24-hour failed payment follow-up system with backup cards on file
• Automate late fees to protect cash flow without awkward conversations
• Review and digitize all payment agreements this quarter

👉 Ready to stop patchwork fixes and build leadership systems that hold up under pressure? Book your Leadership Reset Consultation here: [Leadership Reset]

And if you want to see where payment systems and other money leaks may be draining your school, take the Money Leaks Diagnostic.

View Details

.This is the second episode in Chanie Wilschanski’s Six Money Leaks series, and it’s all about a leak that quietly drains thousands from your school each year, schedule efficiency.

Your payroll is your biggest expense, which means inefficiencies in your staffing schedule are some of the most expensive mistakes you can make. From unnecessary shift overlaps to inconsistent break coverage and directors constantly stepping into classrooms, the lack of a strategic coverage system can cost you tens of thousands annually, without you even realizing it.

In this episode, Chanie shares real-world examples, including how closing a 20-minute daily overlap across 20 teachers saved one school nearly $28,000 a year. She also breaks down the systems and rhythms that create consistent coverage, protect teacher energy, and ensure directors can focus on leadership, not constant classroom coverage.

If you’re ready to end reactionary scheduling and install a predictable rhythm that protects both profitability and staff culture, this conversation is your blueprint.

What You’ll Learn

• Why “coverage for the sake of coverage” is a profit leak
• How to design schedules that serve your school’s needs, not just individual preferences
• The impact of shift overlaps and how to eliminate them without hurting culture
• How schedule predictability reduces chaos and burnout
• Why break coverage is a culture issue, not just an operations task
• The high cost of directors covering classrooms, and how to stop it

Key Insights

Coverage Must Be Strategic

More staff doesn’t always mean better coverage. Without role clarity, ratio management, and coverage protocols, you’re paying for bodies, not results.

Small Overlaps Add Up to Big Leaks

A 20-minute overlap between shifts across 20 staff members can cost nearly $30,000 a year, money that could be reinvested into your team and programs.

Predictable Schedules Protect Culture

When staff know their schedules weeks in advance, it reduces stress, improves retention, and prevents constant shift reshuffling.

Break Coverage Is About Trust

When teachers consistently return late from breaks, it erodes trust and damages classroom culture. Strict break coverage protocols protect relationships and morale.

Directors Covering Classrooms Costs More Than You Think

Every hour a director spends in the classroom is an hour of leadership work undone, directly impacting profitability and long-term growth.

Try This Instead: Schedule Efficiency Systems

• Audit Shift Overlaps: Eliminate unnecessary double-pay time blocks.
• Standardize Break Coverage: Assign coverage roles and protect break start/end times.
• Create Predictable Schedules: Require advance time-off requests and manage peak request seasons.
• Build an Emergency Coverage Plan: Stop relying on directors as the default coverage solution.

Memorable Quotes

“Coverage for the sake of coverage is not strategic—it’s expensive.”

“If you’re regularly stepping into classrooms, you’re stealing from the school’s profitability.”

“A 20-minute overlap may feel small, but across your team, it’s an entire salary lost.”

Why It Matters for School Leaders

• Stops payroll waste caused by poor scheduling
• Reduces burnout and turnover with predictable rhythms
• Protects your role as a leader by keeping you out of constant coverage
• Strengthens staff trust and school culture through consistency
• Improves profitability without cutting quality or programming

Resources & Next Steps

• Audit your schedule overlaps and calculate the annual cost
• Review and update your break coverage protocol
• Create or refine your emergency coverage plan
• Download the Money Leaks Diagnostic at schoolsofexcellence.com/moneyleaks to see where your biggest leaks are

View Details

Turn Underused Classrooms, Time Blocks, and Facilities Into Predictable Profit With Systems That Last

This episode kicks off Chanie Wilschanski’s Six Money Leaks series, diving deep into the first profit drain most school leaders overlook: space optimization.

Your school building’s square footage is either making money or silently draining it. If your classrooms feel full but your budget is still tight, you may be missing out on hundreds, sometimes thousands, in unrealized revenue.

Chanie shares real client stories where underutilized classrooms, missed extended care opportunities, and unused rooms were costing schools between $96,000 and $130,000 a year. More importantly, she breaks down the systems and rhythms that turn those gaps into sustainable income, without overloading teachers or sacrificing your school culture.

Whether you lead an early childhood center or a private school, this conversation will help you stop making emotional space decisions and start using operational systems to create predictable, sustainable growth.

What You’ll Learn

• What space optimization really is, and what it’s not
• How to uncover hidden enrollment gaps that quietly drain revenue
• Extended care strategies that boost profit without exhausting your team
• How room licensing and usage flexibility can add thousands in monthly revenue
• Using external rentals strategically without adding operational chaos
• The systems and rhythms that keep your space working for you year after year

Key Insights

Feeling Full Isn’t the Same as Being Full

A school reporting 85% capacity was actually at 72%, a $96,000 annual revenue leak. Real data, not perception, should drive your enrollment strategy.

Protecting Staff by Avoiding Enrollment Hurts Everyone

Limiting enrollment to “make it easier” on teachers reduces resources, which ultimately impacts their long-term stability.

Extended Care and Tiered Pricing Unlock Prime Revenue Blocks

Charging for early or late care, with systems to test and staff them, can turn unused time into high-value revenue.

Room Licensing Flexibility Creates Opportunities

Re-zoning or re-licensing underused rooms can meet demand and significantly increase monthly income.

External Rentals Work When Structured

Renting space for community events or seasonal programs can be profitable if built into your operational rhythm, not as a one-off scramble.

Try This Instead: The Space Optimization Systems

• Room-by-Room Enrollment Audit: Track licensed capacity vs. actual enrollment by room.
• Extended Care Revenue System: Run quarterly audits of arrival/departure patterns and pilot premium care offerings.
• Licensing Flexibility Process: Regularly review demand vs. licensing and pursue rezoning where profitable.
• External Rental Structure: Decide if rentals should be seasonal or ongoing, and set clear policies for use.

Memorable Quotes

“Every square foot in your building is either generating profit or stealing profit from you.”

“Protecting staff by avoiding full enrollment is not protection—it’s a slow drain on your entire school.”

“Feeling full is not the same as being full. Data, not perception, should drive your space strategy.”

Why It Matters for School Leaders

• Stops revenue leaks caused by underutilized space
• Builds operational systems that increase profit without overburdening staff
• Protects your school culture by aligning resources with sustainable growth
• Creates capacity to invest in your team, programming, and long-term stability

Resources & Next Steps

• Run a room-by-room enrollment audit to see where you’re losing capacity
• Identify one underutilized space or time block and assign a revenue goal
• Share this episode with your leadership team and hold a 15-minute debrief on potential space optimization strategies
• Learn how Schools of Excellence can help you install systems that work HERE.

View Details

In this solo episode, Chanie Wilschanski unpacks Three Money Truths every school leader must face in 2025.

If your classrooms are full, your team is in place, and your calendar is set but you’re still feeling financial, mental, and emotional pressure you’re not doing anything wrong. You’re likely experiencing what Chanie calls survival success: a quiet, creeping strain that comes from hitting the ceiling of patchwork fixes and short-term wins.

This conversation is about moving beyond band-aid growth and into strategic, sustainable school leadership, where predictable rhythms, financial clarity, and strong operational systems replace last-minute scrambles and constant firefighting.

Whether you lead an early childhood center or a private school, these truths will challenge you to shift from short-term relief to long-term stability, without burning out yourself or your team.

What You’ll Learn

• The difference between band-aid growth and strategic growth in school operations
• Why 2024 bought you time, but not long-term stability
• How fear-based pricing undermines your school’s financial health
• Why delayed investments act as invisible debt on your school leadership
• How predictable rhythms replace burnout-driven decision-making
• The mindset shift needed to lead with clarity instead of constant reaction

Key Insights

2024 Bought You Time, Not Stability

Last year’s cost cuts, tuition increases, and hiring sprints were survival moves—not long-term solutions. Without predictable systems for tuition planning, role clarity, and expense strategy, the same cracks will reappear.

Fear Isn’t Frugal, It’s Expensive

Avoiding tuition increases because of last year’s pushback keeps you stuck in fear-based pricing. Strategic pricing includes clear messaging, timing, and parent education—so your value drives your rates, not anxiety.

Delayed Investments Create Invisible Debt

Postponing hires, system upgrades, or automation drains time, energy, and capacity—even if your QuickBooks doesn’t show it. Relief doesn’t come from cutting support; it comes from building a team and systems you can trust.

Try This Instead: From Band-Aid Growth to Strategic Growth

• Tuition Strategy: Build a review schedule for market positioning and messaging so increases are planned, not reactive.
• Hiring Pipeline: Create clear role definitions and accountability systems for every hire.
• Expense Efficiency: Review financials on a set schedule to guide decisions based on data, not panic.
• Operational Rhythms: Design rhythms you can return to when circumstances shift, because they always will.

Memorable Quotes:

“Survival success doesn’t announce itself—it’s a slow suffocation.”

“You’re not failing. You’re outgrowing patchwork.”

“Fear-based pricing will cost you far more than a rate increase ever will.”

“Cash hoarding isn’t leadership—delayed investments are invisible debt.”

Why This Matters for School Leaders

• Ends the cycle of scrambling and short-term fixes
• Builds school operations that support long-term sustainable growth
• Reduces burnout and decision fatigue for leaders and teams
• Protects your school culture from instability and fear-driven choices
• Positions your school to adapt confidently in changing markets

Resources & Next Steps

Want to identify the hidden drains on your school’s profit? Join Chanie next week for a new series on The Six Money Leaks, where she’ll walk you through the most common areas schools lose revenue and exactly what to do about them.

Click here to explore how Schools of Excellence can help you build sustainable systems, confident leadership, and a school that runs without constant firefighting.

View Details

In this strategic episode of the Schools of Excellence podcast, Chanie Wilschanski sits down with longtime industry expert Kathy Ligon, founder of Hinge Advisors and the BOOST nonprofit initiative, to unpack what it truly takes to lead a financially sustainable school—without compromising your mission.

Together, they explore how school leaders can align mission, metrics, and money, and why profit isn’t the opposite of purpose—it’s what makes your vision possible. If you’ve ever felt the pressure of payroll, struggled with discounting, or wondered how to strengthen your school operations for long-term sustainability, this conversation offers clarity, structure, and relief.

What You'll Learn

• Why profit fuels purpose—and how financial clarity protects your mission
• The five profit pillars: occupancy, tuition pricing, discount strategy, staffing efficiency, and facilities cost
• How to identify and eliminate hidden financial leaks
• Strategies to improve staffing efficiency while increasing staff retention
• What sustainable leadership looks like across economic cycles

Key Insights and Takeaways

1. Purpose Without Profit Is Unsustainable

You can’t serve your students, support your staff, or lead with confidence if you’re losing sleep over cash flow. Financial health gives school leaders the peace of mind and capacity to lead with intention.

2. Know Your Five Financial Pillars

Occupancy, tuition rates, and discounting drive your revenue.

Staffing and facility costs are your biggest expenses.

These five pillars account for 95% of your financial outcomes. Some need daily attention—others should be reviewed quarterly.

3. The Hidden Cost of Discounting

Discounts often erode margins silently.

Track full tuition versus actual collected revenue to see what you’re really “giving away.”

Strategically revisit all discounts—except staff discounts—to reclaim margin and reinforce your school's value.

4. Smarter Staffing, Not Cheaper Staffing

Reducing staffing costs doesn’t mean reducing quality.

Build a school culture where staff finish strong—even when ratios drop.

Instead of cutting pay, optimize hours and clarify expectations.

Retention is more cost-effective than constant turnover.

5. Resilience Comes from Readiness

After four decades in the industry, Kathy emphasizes that school leaders who adapt quickly—and build financial buffers—are the ones who sustain growth through any season.

From public pre-K expansion to economic downturns, having systems that can pivot is non-negotiable.

Tools and Action Steps

Benchmark Your Financials

Use Hinge’s free Benchmarking Tool to evaluate tuition, occupancy, and staffing costs

frameworkbyhinge.com

Audit Your Discount Strategy

Update billing systems to track full tuition vs. discounted tuition separately

Evaluate where your pricing may be undermining your perceived value

Check Your Staffing Rhythms

Explore opportunities to close early or adjust shifts based on ratios

Ensure your team is equipped to support those decisions

Quarterly Financial Review

Schedule time each quarter to evaluate the five pillars

Use data to guide decisions, not gut reactions

Quote to Remember

“There is no possible way for you to provide the purpose or mission… without the money or the profit— they are absolutely necessary for each other.”

— Kathy Ligon

Why This Matters for School Leaders

• Creates financial stability that supports your mission and your team
• Reduces burnout by removing the constant pressure of underfunded operations
• Builds systems for sustainable growth—even in unpredictable seasons
• Reinforces your leadership with confidence, clarity, and purpose

Resources and Next Steps

• Grab Kathy’s Book: The Five Pillars of Purpose‑Driven Profit (all proceeds support BOOST, her nonprofit for educators in crisis)
• Use the Free Financial Benchmark Tool: frameworkbyhinge.com

Book a Strategy Call: Get clarity around your growth and leadership rhythms at schoolsofexcellence.com/profit

View Details

Most school leaders have said: “We just need to get on the same page.”

But what if that phrase is actually sabotaging your culture, creating false harmony, and leaving you exhausted from holding standards alone?

In this episode, Chanie dismantles the “same page” myth and explains why schools thrive on shared standards, not passive agreements. You’ll learn how to create clarity, build ownership, and design guardrails and rhythms that keep standards alive even when things get messy.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re repeating the same expectations week after week—and still doing all the follow-up yourself—this episode will show you how to stop appeasing and start building a culture of accountability that truly lasts.

What You’ll Learn

• Why “getting on the same page” is a delay tactic, not a leadership strategy
• The difference between appeasement, agreement, and real accountability
• How shared standards create clarity and predictability in your school
• Why guardrails and rhythms matter more than words or meetings
• Practical steps to turn repeated expectations into lasting follow-through

Key Insights

• Culture isn’t built on harmony. It’s built on clear standards and shared ownership.
• Follow-through beats words. Agreements in a meeting mean nothing without consistent action.
• Guardrails protect standards. Without systems and rhythms, your standards crumble under pressure.
• Safety comes from predictability. When everyone owns the standard, trust and culture grow.

Memorable Quotes

“Being on the same page doesn’t build culture, shared standards do.”

“Schools don’t run on harmony. They run on structure, rhythms, and accountability.”

“If your standards only hold when everything is perfect, you don’t have standards, you have nothing.”

Why This Matters for School Leaders

• Stops the cycle of repeated conversations and broken promises
• Protects leaders from carrying all the follow-up alone
• Builds staff trust and culture through consistency
• Creates operational clarity that holds up under stress and change

Resources & Next Steps

• Identify one standard in your school that keeps “ping-ponging” back to you and design guardrails to uphold it
• Share this episode with your leadership team and debrief: Where are we chasing harmony instead of standards?

Ready to Fix the Real Problem Behind Burnout and Broken Systems?If delegation isn’t working, you don’t have a people problem, you have a rhythm problem.

In a 90-minute Leadership Reset Consultation, you’ll get a personalized 30-day Roadmap that shows you how to:

• Shift from chasing and following up to leading a team that truly owns their work
• Install the rhythms that keep your school accountable, even in chaos
• Free yourself from being the emotional and operational center of your school

If you’re tired of patchwork fixes and want a leadership system that holds up under pressure, this session is for you.

[Book your Leadership Reset Consultation here]

View Details

In this client spotlight episode, Chanie Wilschanski sits down with longtime coaching client Niki Van Cleave, owner of Butterfly Bunch in Metro Detroit, to explore what it means to lead a school with sustainable systems, real accountability, and operational clarity—especially during seasons of personal and professional upheaval.

Niki’s leadership journey spans two centers, a season of grief, increased operational pressure, and the bold decision to consolidate into one location with strategy and purpose. The turning point? She stopped defaulting to survival mode and started anchoring into intentional leadership. With the support of the Five Gears Diagnostic and the Money Leaks Assessment, Niki clarified her school operations, strengthened her team culture, and created rhythms that hold—even in chaotic seasons.

What You’ll Learn

• What aligned school leadership looks like when the pressure is high
• How to identify stuck gears that are slowing down your school’s growth
• Why a no-spend freeze revealed unsustainable patterns and opened up team ownership
• How operational clarity and team systems reduce burnout and second-guessing
• What it means to move from micromanaging to leading with confidence

Key Insights

1. Survival Mode Isn’t a Long-Term Strategy
2. Niki’s story reminds us that running a school in constant reaction mode isn’t failure—it’s a signal. And it doesn’t have to be permanent.
3. The Five Gears Diagnostic Pinpoints System Gaps
4. Niki identified Financial Health and Strategic Growth as her stuck gears. That clarity helped her stop putting out fires and focus her energy where it mattered most.
5. Tightening Systems Reclaims Profit and Ownership
6. A no-spend freeze and new ordering protocols cut supply waste by over 50% and empowered her assistant director to take ownership of key systems.
7. You Don’t Need More Staff—You Need a Team You Can Trust
8. By equipping one team member to manage supplies with clear accountability, Niki eliminated micromanaging and babysitting staff while building sustainable team trust.
9. Anchored Rhythms Lead to Sustainable Leadership
10. Even during high-demand seasons like back-to-school, Niki prioritized personal anchors—prayer, movement, reflection—to stay grounded in intentional leadership, not reactive chaos.

Try This Instead: 3 Tools to Regain Operational Control

1. Run the Five Gears Diagnostic
2. Discover which area of your school is stuck—enrollment, staffing, parent communication, finances, or strategy—and stop scrambling by focusing on what’s slowing your momentum.
3. 🔗 Take the Diagnostic
4. Audit Your Money Leaks
5. Use this tool to expose where your school is hemorrhaging resources—supplies, staffing, or food—and implement systems that protect your budget.
6. 🔗 Download the Money Leaks Assessment
7. Commit to One Leadership Anchor
8. Pick one rhythm—a daily walk, a reflective pause, a team huddle—that gives you peace of mind and builds real leadership capacity when the pressure is on.

Memorable Quotes

“Different is scary—but different is good.” – Niki Van Cleave

“You don’t need another tactic—you need a system that aligns with your values.” – Chanie Wilschanski

“Anchored leaders build cultures that hold—even when they don’t.” – Chanie Wilschanski

Why This Matters for School Leaders

• Helps overwhelmed school directors move from chaos to clarity
• Uncovers financial inefficiencies and operational blind spots
• Builds team systems that reduce mental load and increase accountability
• Supports confident school leadership through sustainable daily rhythms
• Models how long-term coaching transforms leadership and school culture

Resources for School Leaders

• Take the Five Gears Diagnostic - https://hub.schoolsofexcellence.com/fivegears
• Download the Money Leaks Assessment - https://schoolsofexcellence.com/moneyleaks/

View Details

As the school year gains momentum, it's easy for school leaders to fall into survival mode—abandoning the very rhythms that anchor sustainable growth, effective school operations, and confident leadership. In this episode of the Schools of Excellence Podcast, Chanie Wilschanski breaks down the essential distinction between anchors and enhancers, and why understanding this difference is critical for school directors managing high-pressure seasons.

If you're facing a surge in enrollment, onboarding new staff, or navigating leadership fatigue, this episode will help you identify the systems, habits, and non-negotiables that protect your energy and peace of mind. Because running a private school, preschool, or early childhood center shouldn’t mean always putting out fires—it means leading with intentionality, clarity, and control.

What You’ll Learn* The difference between anchors and enhancers—and why both matter for sustainable school leadership * How to identify the leadership habits that protect you from burnout, second-guessing, and resentment * The hidden cost of abandoning your routines during busy seasons * Why survival mode becomes the default when systems are missing * A simple way to assess where your school needs operational focus

Key Insights1. Anchors create stability during chaos

Anchors are the daily habits that ground you emotionally and mentally. For overwhelmed directors, these aren’t luxuries—they’re leadership tools. Anchors may look like prayer, walking, journaling, or quiet reflection. When the pressure is high, these are the habits that keep you rooted and resilient.

2. Enhancers elevate—but they don’t stabilize

Massages, time with friends, or a night out can be wonderful enhancers, but they can’t replace the foundational habits that regulate your mindset and sustain your ability to lead. Enhancers help you feel good, but they don’t create consistency.

3. Abandoning anchors leads to burnout

When school leaders drop their anchors in exchange for hustle, the cost is high. Leadership becomes reactive. Decision fatigue sets in. You feel stuck, anxious, and resentful. Rebuilding your rhythms later will require far more energy than simply preserving them now.

4. Your anchors are unique to you

Chanie shares her personal anchors—prayer, walking, and meditation—and encourages leaders to identify their own. The true test? If you still do it when you're sick, traveling, or exhausted, it’s likely an anchor.

5. Systems—not hustle—drive confident leadership

Real school leadership isn't about working harder. It's about installing rhythms and school systems that do the heavy lifting. When you lead from systems, not from stress, you create time freedom, better team accountability, and long-term sustainability.

Memorable Quotes"When you stop doing your anchors, survival becomes a habit—and it’s harder to come back from." – Chanie Wilschanski

"Anchors aren’t nice-to-haves. They’re lifelines."

"Leadership is about alignment, not exhaustion."

Try This: 3 Steps to Identify Your AnchorsStep 1: Look at your stress habits

What do you continue doing when you’re sick, overextended, or traveling? That’s likely an anchor.

Step 2: List your daily wellness practices

Then separate anchors from enhancers. Anchors are essential and stabilizing. Enhancers are supportive, but optional.

Step 3: Choose one anchor to protect this season

Commit to it fully. That single action can create the clarity and consistency you need to lead well this fall.

Why It Matters for School Leaders* Reduces burnout, resentment, and emotional exhaustion in high-pressure seasons * Helps you lead from systems and values—not reactivity * Supports long-term sustainability and mental clarity * Shifts your school culture from disorganized chaos to rhythm-driven leadership

Resources & Next StepsTake the Free Five Gears Diagnostic: Discover where your school leadership is misaligned at schoolsofexcellence.com/fivegears

Book a Profit & Growth Strategy Session: Identify where you’re leaking time, energy, or resources at schoolsofexcellence.com/profit

About Chanie Wilschanski & Schools of ExcellenceChanie Wilschanski is the founder of Schools of Excellence and a sought-after mentor for early childhood and private school leaders. Her work is grounded in building operational systems, emotionally intelligent leadership, and sustainable rhythms for long-term success. Through her podcast, trainings, and membership program, Chanie helps private school and ECE leaders lead with confidence, build high-functioning teams, and step into their full leadership potential—without burnout or chaos.

If this episode resonated with you, share it with another school leader ready to move beyond survival mode and into intentional, systems-driven leadership.

View Details

In this timely solo episode, Chanie Wilschanski shares a powerful leadership truth every school owner and director needs to hear as the new year begins: what you tolerate in August becomes the culture you’re stuck managing by February.

This isn’t just a motivational pep talk—it’s a wake-up call. As classrooms buzz with fresh energy and bulletin boards get a glow-up, your old leadership reflexes start creeping back in. The skipped 1:1s, the ignored red flags, the well-meaning rescues? They’re not small moments. They’re culture-setting decisions that will quietly shape your entire year.

You’ll learn how to lead with rhythm instead of reactivity, shift your team’s expectations through consistency (not speeches), and install rituals that hold your culture steady—even when the chaos kicks in.

What You’ll Learn* Why back-to-school energy masks deeper leadership reflexes * The invisible patterns that shape school culture more than your speeches * The difference between rescuing and rhythm—and how to choose wisely * How to stop trading your boundaries for short-term order * 3 specific August moves that build long-term ease and clarity * How to lead without becoming the emotional center of your school

Key Insights1. Culture Isn’t Built by What You Say—It’s Built by What You NormalizeThe kickoff speech doesn’t shape the culture. What you protect and what you let slide in August quietly creates the tone your team will carry into February.

1. Rescuing in August = Burnout by OctoberJumping in every time someone is overwhelmed might feel helpful—but it silently teaches your team that leadership equals emotional labor and unpredictability.

2. Back-to-School Is Not a Fresh Start—It’s a MirrorYour patterns will show up early. Canceling a 1:1, skipping an accountability moment, or “letting it slide” may seem harmless, but they’re the seeds of future burnout.

3. Leadership Happens in Repetition, Not ReactionWhat you do consistently is what your team learns to expect. Stop trying to be everywhere—start being predictable in the right places.

Try This Instead: 3 August Shifts That Anchor Long-Term CultureIf you want this year to feel different, you don’t need a new checklist. You need a new rhythm.

Here are three moves to make in August that will shape your leadership for the rest of the year:

1. Protect One Ritual at All CostsChoose one leadership rhythm—like weekly 1:1s, classroom walks, or a team huddle—and commit to protecting it.

Even in chaos. Especially in chaos.

It tells your team: “We don’t abandon connection when things get busy. We anchor in it.”

1. Install a Weekly “Culture Check”Every Friday, ask yourself:

2. What did I tolerate this week?

3. What did I repeat on purpose?
4. What culture am I writing through my actions?

Culture isn’t what you say on Monday. It’s what you normalize all week.

1. Anchor Your Own EnergyPick one small rhythm that fuels you—like a lunch walk, a 5-minute journaling practice, or a coffee check-in with a mentor.

Because when you’re regulated, you lead from vision—not vigilance.

Memorable Quotes“Leadership isn’t what you say—it’s what you normalize.” – Chanie Wilschanski

“You don’t need more visibility. You need more predictability.” – Chanie Wilschanski

“Excellence is built through rhythm, not reaction.” – Chanie Wilschanski

Why It Matters for School Leaders Prevents emotional and operational burnout midyear * Creates team-wide predictability, not dependency * Shifts the culture silently—through consistent, visible rhythms * Keeps your leadership identity rooted in presence, not panic*

Resources Apply for School Leadership HQ* to build rhythms that hold your school—even when you're tired. * Learn how to lead without over-functioning → Apply Now

About Chanie Wilschanski & Schools of ExcellenceChanie Wilschanski leads Schools of Excellence with a passion for cultivating soulful, effective leadership through intentional rhythms. Through podcasting and coaching, she empowers directors and owners to thrive with grace, clarity, and sustainable systems—never at the expense of their well-being.

If you found this episode valuable, please rate, subscribe, and share it with a fellow school leader who’s ready to stop over-carrying and start leading with radiant, sustainable rhythms of joy.

View Details

From Burnout to Boundaries: Redefining Female Leadership in Private Education

In this deeply honest and emotionally resonant episode, Chanie Wilschanski invites female school leaders into a transformative conversation about the “impossible standard” of leadership in education. She explores the emotional labor women carry, how over-functioning and people-pleasing lead to burnout, and why leading with warmth shouldn’t come at the cost of boundaries or energy. Chanie offers practical strategies—and powerful mindset shifts—to help leaders reclaim their authority and redefine what it means to lead well.

What You’ll Learn The impact of emotional exhaustion and over-functioning on female school leaders * The “double-bind” dilemma: being warm vs. being decisive * Why noticing feels like a leadership burden—and how to distribute it * How rescuing becomes reactive leadership disguised as delegation * The importance of identity work*, not just strategy, to break burnout cycles * How to create rhythms, boundaries, and systems that protect your warmth * Simple journaling prompts to rethink your leadership posture

Key Insights1. Emotional Labor HurtsWomen in school leadership hold not only logistical responsibility but also the emotional pulse of the building—staff, parents, students. This leads to heightened emotional exhaustion compared to male counterparts.

1. Warming Doesn’t Mean WeaknessHormonal responses like “tend-and-befriend” push women to soothe and rescue rather than set boundaries and enforce standards. Warmth is powerful… until it becomes draining without structure.

2. Rescue ≠ DelegationBringing in supplies or stepping in during a lesson might feel supportive—but if not shared, it’s rescuing. True leadership distributes responsibility and builds capacity.

3. “Noticing” Is the Hidden LoadYou see the trash that won't get emptied, the subtle shift in energy… and you carry it. That invisible “20%” needs leadership, not martyrdom. Build systems so teams learn to see.

4. Boundaries Honor the MissionWarmth becomes weaponized when it’s the only way you’ve learned to lead. When boundaries are in place, you're not being cold—you’re protecting your mission from burnout.

5. Identity Shifts MatterYour strategy is useless if your identity isn’t aligned. If “rescue leader” stays in your identity, you’ll recreate burnout cycles—even with perfect systems.

Memorable Quotes“You were meant to build a school that holds you.” – Chanie Wilschanski

“Excellence is built through rhythm, not martyrdom.” – Chanie Wilschanski

Why It Matters for School Leaders Reclaim your authority and energy * Build team culture around shared responsibility, not dependence * Prevent burnout through healthy boundaries and accountability systems* * Shift mental load so your presence enhances, not depletes, the community

Resources & Lead Magnet Explore Leadership HQ coaching for ongoing support - schoolsofexcellence.com/consult * Subscribe for future episodes on leadership rhythms, emotional clarity, and strategic systems*

About Chanie Wilschanski & Schools of ExcellenceChanie Wilschanski leads Schools of Excellence with a passion for cultivating soulful, effective leadership through intentional rhythms. Through podcasting and coaching, she empowers directors and owners to thrive with grace, clarity, and sustainable systems—never at the expense of their well-being.

If you found this episode valuable, please rate, subscribe, and share it with a fellow school leader who’s ready to stop over-carrying and start leading with radiant, sustainable rhythms of joy.

View Details

“Tough conversations aren’t about fixing everything immediately — they’re about understanding each other enough to keep moving forward.”

What does it really mean to be present in a tough conversation? In this episode, we explore how presence—not just words or timing—shapes the quality and outcome of difficult conversations in leadership and relationships.

Key takeaways:

• Why fully showing up physically and emotionally is the first act of care in a tough conversation
• How presence helps shift from reactive responses to genuine listening and connection
• The importance of preparing not just your message but the timing and emotional space for dialogue
• Why tough conversations are rarely “one and done” — they require patience and ongoing management
• How managing expectations about resolution can reduce pressure and open space for understanding

Tune in to explore how practicing presence and patience in tough conversations can transform leadership and deepen connection in all your relationships. Ready to transition from managing to truly growing your center? Learn more at https://schoolsofexcellence.com/profit/

Connect with Gene at https://genehammett.com/

View Details

“When enrollment is low, you don’t hire a marketing agency. You examine your identity.”

What do you do when your enrollment numbers drop—but you know you're running a powerful, heart-centered program? In this episode, we unpack what it takes to rebuild enrollment without defaulting to expensive ad agencies or slick marketing campaigns.

Key Takeaways

• Why throwing money at marketing is rarely the first step when enrollment declines
• How the “parent ambassador” framework sparked organic growth through personal connection
• The leadership resistance that often hides behind “let’s hire someone”
• What it looks like to take baby steps instead of big leaps—and still see momentum
• How cold calling, coattail marketing, and local fairs became high-impact strategies

What if the real reason people aren’t buying… has nothing to do with your offer? Tune in to hear what’s actually driving your slow sales. Ready to unlock your center's hidden potential? schedule your strategy session today at https://schoolsofexcellence.com/profit/

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

“If you don’t decide or name the intention, the season will decide for you.”

How do you move from chaotic, catch-up summers to ones that genuinely renew your family and your leadership? In this behind-the-scenes episode, Chanie shares the intentional framework her family uses to plan summers that serve as a map for the year ahead—grounding their values, relationships, and rhythms.

Key Takeaways:

• Why summer can’t just be a break—it needs to be a blueprint.
• Treating summer as a time to reset isn’t enough. When planned with intention, it becomes a map that shapes your family and leadership for the rest of the year.
• The I-R-E-R method: Intention, Reflection, Experience, Rhythm.
• Anchors over goals: the power of seasonal rituals.
• Planning for joy—on purpose.
• How memory-making experiences build generational impact.

Tune in to explore this reframe and how you can design your summer with intention, reflection, and rhythm—so your leadership starts at home, not on the calendar. Want to discuss what’s next in your leadership journey? Visit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/profit/

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

“Essentials are not what’s in your handbook. They’re what you do under pressure.”

What do you protect when you're overwhelmed—not in a crisis, but in the daily fog of leadership? In this episode, Chanie explores the crucial distinction between what's urgent and what's truly essential—and why many leaders are still swirling in chaos, despite their experience and commitment.

Key Takeaways:

• When we believe our circumstances dictate our behavior, we lose sight of our agency—and our team feels that erosion too.
• If your leadership rhythms fall apart in hard seasons, they were never essential to begin with.
• Defining what matters most allows you to act from purpose, not panic, even when the fog rolls in.
• Who you are as a leader is not defined by your plans, but by your clarity when those plans are interrupted.

Tune in to explore this reframe—and begin uncovering the true essentials that will anchor your leadership, no matter the storm. Curious about the next step in your leadership journey? Let’s explore it together: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/profit/

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

“We don’t light candles because we’re ready. We light them because it’s time.”

What if energy isn’t something you wait for—but something you create?

In this episode, Chanie opens up about walking through profound personal grief while still leading a team, running a business, and showing up for others. She explores the surprising shift that helped her lead from a place of clarity, even when she felt completely depleted—and why great leadership is anchored not in energy reserves, but in energy rituals.

Key takeaways: Why energy is something you cultivate, not just conserve * The difference between building systems and building rituals* that restore your capacity * How leadership becomes unsustainable when it's only powered by your mood or mental “tank” * What rituals actually do for your nervous system—and why they matter more than you think * Why consistency—not spontaneity—is what builds trust, safety, and longevity in your leadership

🎧 Tune in to explore this reframe and how you can apply it to your leadership today. Want to discuss what’s next in your leadership journey? Visit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/profit/

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

“You can delegate work, but you cannot delegate trust.”

You’ve done everything right—checklists created, SOPs in place, team hired and trained. So why does it still feel like you’re the glue holding everything together? This episode is for the leader who has mastered structure but is still shouldering the soul of the school. We’re unpacking the hidden weight leaders carry, why systems alone aren’t enough, and the critical role that rhythms and rituals play in sustainable culture and freedom.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why systems don’t create ownership—and what actually does
• How to shift from being the “rhythm” of your school to building sustainable drumbeats
• The truth about trust, delegation, and emotional load
• Why leadership rituals—not vibes—are the foundation of real culture
• What immature vs. mature leadership actually looks like (and how to lead like a grown-up)
• How one client’s ritual of daily gratitude transformed her team culture and emotional energy

Ready to stop being the glue and start leading a self-sustaining team? Join our School Leadership HQ where we walk leaders through the Leadership Operating System, cultural drumbeats, and rituals that build legacy. Visit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/profit/

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

How do you keep leading when life knocks you down?

Grief, loss, and hardship don’t pause for leadership responsibilities—and yet, as school owners and leaders, we’re expected to keep showing up, making decisions, and guiding our teams, even in the midst of personal pain.

In this deeply moving and powerful episode, I sit down with Evelyn Knight—TEDx speaker, childcare business coach, and center owner—who has walked through profound loss and emerged with an unshakable commitment to faith, leadership, and emotional maturity.

Inside This Episode, We Dive Into: The Emotional Weight of Leadership – How to lead with intention when life feels overwhelming * Navigating Grief While Running a Business – The reality of holding space for both personal loss and professional responsibilities * Emotional Maturity at Work – How to create a workplace culture where people can grow through life’s challenges * The Role of Faith in Leadership – Why spirituality, in whatever form it takes, can be a powerful anchor for leaders * How to Lead a Team with Compassion & Strength* – Creating a team culture that recognizes the human experience behind the work

This conversation is raw, real, and rich with wisdom for leaders who are balancing the weight of leadership with the complexities of life. Whether you’re navigating your own struggles or supporting a team member through theirs, this episode will give you perspective, tools, and the reassurance that you’re not alone.

Loved this episode? Share it with a fellow school leader who needs to hear this today. And if this conversation resonated with you, leave a review—it helps us continue bringing you conversations that matter.

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

You’ve checked the boxes.

✅ Built the center.

✅ Hired the team.

✅ Filled the classrooms

✅ Hit the revenue goals.

On paper, everything looks like a dream.

So why does it still feel… heavy?

In today’s conversation, I sit down with school owner Bri McCarty for a powerful and honest look at the evolution of leadership—from proving and performing to leading with peace, clarity, and purpose.

We explore what happens when you stop building from hustle and start building from alignment. When you stop being the hero and start creating a team that shares the vision. When you stop solving everyone’s problems and finally let yourself lead.

This episode is for the leader who’s done chasing worth through more enrollment, more expansion, more doing. You’ve built the dream. Now it’s time to build the life inside of it.

this conversation is your reminder that excellence doesn't require doing more... it asks you to become more.

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

What if the biggest difference between stress and stability wasn’t strategy—but emotional maturity?

In this powerful episode, we explore how emotionally mature leaders rise above chaos, drama, and second-guessing to lead with confidence and clarity. From gossip and manipulation to inconsistent behavior and reactive decisions, emotionally immature environments drain energy and sabotage growth.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Through real stories and practical insights, you’ll learn how to embody emotional maturity and lead a culture of trust, discernment, and accountability.

What you’ll learn:✅ The 5 behaviors that signal drama in your culture—and how to stop them at the root

✅ How emotional maturity allows leaders to regulate, reflect, and respond instead of react

✅ Why gossip, victimhood, and manipulation destroy teams—and how to replace them with trust

✅ The 10 defining traits of drama-free leadership (and how to develop them in yourself and others)

✅ How to shift from inconsistent, reactive leadership to clear, intentional decision-making

This episode is your guide to becoming the kind of leader who builds not just a better team—but a better version of yourself.

Download your 5 Gears Diagnostic here! It only takes 10 minutes and will show you exactly which gear you need to focus on to create momentum across your entire school. https://hub.schoolsofexcellence.com/fivegears

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

If drama keeps showing up in your school—it’s not a people problem, it’s a design problem.

In this episode, Chanie unpacks how school leaders can move from managing chaos to designing a culture where drama simply can’t survive.

Using real (anonymized) stories from our work with school leaders, Chanie breaks down five signs of drama-fueled leadership—like gossip, victimhood, and constant complaining—and how they drain emotional and mental energy from your team.

Then, she offers clear tools to shift out of drama and into drama-free leadership that is grounded in emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and values-driven culture design.

💡 What You’ll Learn:* Why gossip, complaining, and victimhood are not just annoying—but culture-damaging * How your personal habits around gossip and blame directly impact your school culture * What it really takes to shift from reactive leadership to intentional design * The secret to changing team behavior: start with your own

Drama-free leadership isn’t about control—it’s about clarity.

Let’s build a school culture where trust, ownership, and excellence are the norm.

Download your free 5 Gears Diagnostic to pinpoint exactly where drama is showing up—and where to start transforming your culture. https://hub.schoolsofexcellence.com/fivegears

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

What if you had a Culture Decoder — a way to see exactly why your school feels stuck in constant chaos?

Every day, you're bombarded with decisions, interruptions, and team confusion. It's not just exhausting — it's cultural.

The truth is, your school culture runs on hidden systems. And when those systems are reactive and unclear, maintenance becomes a drain instead of a strength.

In the fourth episode of the 5 Gears series, we unlock the Culture Decoder hidden inside the Maintenance Gear.

What you’ll learn:

• How your daily operations reveal your real culture — and what it’s trying to tell you
• The difference between reactive maintenance and culture-building systems
• How to identify which tasks you shouldn’t be doing anymore
• The mindset shift that allows leaders to stop operating from urgency
• Why decoding your maintenance practices gives you a blueprint for sustainable growth

This episode is your guide to becoming the kind of leader who doesn’t just maintain — but transforms.

Download your 5 Gears Diagnostic here! It only takes 10 minutes and will show you exactly which gear you need to focus on to create momentum across your entire school. https://hub.schoolsofexcellence.com/fivegears

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

The sixth and final episode in the 5 Gears series, today’s episode focuses on the Strategic Growth Gear. This episode looks a little different from others in the series because strategic growth is not just about building other systems or how to optimize other systems — it's about really understanding when and how to expand your impact.

You’ll learn the four distinct paths of growth:

1. Internal – Strengthening what you already have. This can look like creating leadership pipelines or enhancing your current programs.
2. External – Your traditional market expansion. It includes opening up new locations, expanding to new neighborhoods, and creating pop-up programs.
3. Vertical – Increasing your depth of impact. This is about adding advanced programs and extending your services.
4. Horizontal – Broadening your impact through new revenue streams. It could be creating new training programs, developing new educational materials, or taking things that you've done and actually writing curriculum books.

💡Important → Choosing the wrong path is not just ineffective. It can actually destabilize every single thing that you've built.

Book your Profit and Growth Call here to determine which path is right for your strategic growth. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/profit

Download your 5 Gears Diagnostic here! It only takes 10 minutes and will show you exactly which gear you need to focus on to create momentum across your entire school. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/gearsquiz

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

Imagine if parents didn't just receive updates — they became your biggest champions.

Let me tell you a story. For years, schools have been playing an exhausting game of "communicate and hope." Newsletters flying into inboxes. Random app notifications. Sporadic event invites. Parents scrolling, sighing, deleting.

But what if there was a different way? A way where parents lean IN instead of tune OUT?

The fifth in the 5 Gears series, this episode explores the Parent Engagement Gear.

What you’ll learn:

1. Engagement requires two-way communication, not just one-way updates.
2. Your communication strategy should be a comprehensive system that ensures that every family feels connected to your school.
3. Parent engagement is a skill that can be taught and learned.

This isn't about more communication. It's about meaningful connection.

This is for bold leaders ready to transform parent engagement.

The best part? This doesn't require superhuman effort. Just a shift in approach.

Download your 5 Gears Diagnostic here! It only takes 10 minutes and will show you exactly which gear you need to focus on to create momentum across your entire school. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/gearsquiz

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

The fourth in the 5 Gears series, this episode dives deep into the Staff Culture Gear.

Here’s a surprising truth about staff culture: It's not just about having great benefits or competitive pay. A comprehensive retention ecosystem goes beyond the basics. Using Schools of Excellence’s Retention Intelligence Framework, we examine how school leaders can build an environment where staff can thrive and grow.

What you’ll learn:

1. Why creating a retention ecosystem is crucial for long-term staff success.
2. How fostering a positive school culture and strong peer relationships can significantly improve teacher retention.
3. Actionable strategies school leaders can implement to enhance retention and create a thriving educational environment.

Don’t miss these powerful insights that will help you build a school culture where teachers want to stay and grow.

Download your 5 Gears Diagnostic here! It only takes 10 minutes and will show you exactly which gear you need to focus on to create momentum across your entire school. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/gearsquiz

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

Why do some schools effortlessly attract families while others struggle — despite offering the same features, pricing, and programs?

The secret isn’t more Facebook ads or another website refresh. It’s identity.

In this game-changing episode of the Schools of Excellence podcast, I sit down with marketing expert Veronica Romney, author of Identity Marketing, to break down why schools that market with identity — not just benefits — win the enrollment game.

🔥 What You'll Learn in This Episode:✅ The "Be This" vs. "Buy This" Marketing Shift – Why features and tuition rates don’t drive decisions (and what does)

✅ The Emotional Sale That Every School Must Master – What parents are really thinking when they say, "We love it, but we can’t afford it."

✅ The Two Identities at Play in Every Enrollment Decision – And how to speak to both (without sounding generic)

✅ Why Competing on Price Will Sink Your School – And how to make parents feel like choosing you is the best parenting decision they’ve ever made

✅ The One Marketing Exercise Every School Owner Should Do Right Now – To shift from fighting for enrollments to filling waitlists

This conversation will completely transform how you think about marketing and messaging for your school. If you're tired of competing on price and want parents to see your school as the only choice, this episode is a must-listen.

🎧 Listen now and start marketing with identity, not just features.

📖 Want to go deeper? Grab Veronica’s book, Identity Marketing, and unlock the full framework for marketing that creates deep, lasting connections with families.

🔁 Loved this episode? Share it with a fellow school owner and leave a review — it helps more leaders transform their schools with powerful marketing strategies!

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

Warren Buffett famously said: “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who has been swimming naked.”

Right now, the financial tide is going out. And many school leaders are about to be exposed.

MYTH: As long as your school is mostly full, you're financially healthy.

Many school leaders believe that high enrollment equals financial success. When your classrooms are full and parents seem happy, you might think you're doing great. This myth persists because enrollment numbers are tangible, visible, and feel like an immediate measure of success.

But here's the brutal truth: Enrollment doesn't equal profitability.

Why This Myth Will Destroy Your School

Meet Jen, a school owner who thought she was doing just fine. From the outside, her school looked perfect. Full classrooms. Happy parents. But beneath the surface, a financial disaster was brewing.

When we first met Jen, she was running 11 school locations and thought she was doing everything right. Her revenue looked solid on paper. She was expanding. But beneath the surface, she was bleeding money in ways she couldn't see.

Her day started at 4:37 AM, fueled by desperation and coffee. Despite managing multiple locations, she was working harder, not smarter. Her operational costs were eating through potential profits. She was spending $30,000 monthly on management that could have been streamlined to $15,000. Her inefficient leadership structure meant she was personally handling tasks that could be delegated, costing her time and money.

Her financial strategy wasn't just about numbers. It was about reclaiming her life.

Here's something I want you to really hear: Profit isn't a dirty word. It's your mission's oxygen.

Profit means:

• Paying your incredible teachers what they're TRULY worth
• Creating mind-blowing learning experiences for kids
• Building something that goes way beyond “just getting by”

Your vision isn't just a dream. It's a calling that needs financial fuel.

That’s why I encourage you to take our 6 Money Leaks Diagnostic now!

Visit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/moneyleaks/

In just 10 minutes, you'll uncover:

• The hidden money leaks bleeding your potential
• Opportunities you didn't even know existed

The heartbreaking truth is 27% of private schools close within five years. Not because they're bad schools. Because no one showed them how to play the financial rules.

You're different. You're listening to this because you know there's more.

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

When was the last time you looked at your enrollment numbers and thought, “This is fine?” Many school leaders mistake “not terrible” for “optimal” — and it's costing them more than they realize.

One of our clients, Missy, thought her multi-location program was doing “fine” too. Her center wasn't full, but that was just the nature of that location ... or so she thought.

After implementing three specific systems, that same center enrolled 80 new families for the upcoming school year and five new immediate enrollments — all within 30 days.

The most surprising part? None of these changes required working longer hours.

What Missy discovered is something most school leaders don't realize: There's a profound difference between enrollment activity and enrollment results.

Most centers focus on what I call “red activities” — things that feel productive but don't actually drive enrollment. Meanwhile, the “green activities” — those closest to generating revenue — get pushed aside.

Is your school truly optimized for enrollment, or are you settling for “good enough?”

The truth is, most school leaders don't even realize how much potential revenue they're missing. That's why I created a 2-minute assessment that reveals exactly where your hidden enrollment opportunities lie.

Take the Five Gears Diagnostic Now! Visit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/gearsquiz

In just 120 seconds, you'll discover:

• If you're focusing on the right enrollment activities (most schools aren't)
• Which of your current practices are actually costing you enrollments
• Your exact score compared to schools that consistently maintain 95+% capacity

The difference between 75% and 95% enrollment isn't just a few extra children; it's tens of thousands in additional revenue and the freedom to focus on excellence rather than survival.

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

We know the feeling of trying to juggle everything at once and feeling overwhelmed when we aren’t able to.

That’s why this episode introduces a Schools of Excellence proven framework that will revolutionize your school’s operating system. It’s called the 5 Gears, and it explores the idea that it’s impossible to work on everything at once.

Today we’re kicking off a 6-part series during which Chanie will break down each of the gears: enrollment, staff retention, parent engagement, financial health, and strategic growth.

In this first episode, you’ll learn

1. Focused improvement leads to better outcomes than juggling multiple objectives.
2. Strategic maintenance is crucial while working on active improvement.
3. Every gear requires multiple people working at different levels.
4. Identifying the priority gear is essential for effective leadership.

Remember: long-lasting change happens when you focus on just 2 gears at a time while the rest are in strategic maintenance mode.

Download your 5 Gears Diagnostic here! It only takes 10 minutes and will show you exactly which gear you need to focus on to create momentum across your entire school. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/gearsquiz

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

This episode looks a little different. Chanie was recently joined by school leaders wanting to fill their programs without spending a dollar on marketing.

During this exclusive roundtable replay, three education leaders will share:

• How one school enrolled 27 new students using only their enrollment system
• The calendar structure that helped another secure 15 new enrollments
• The exact process that led to 7 premium enrollments through strategic time blocking

The secret to their success isn’t about fancy marketing tactics or complex sales funnels. It’s about having the right system that does the heavy lifting for you.

Ready to implement the system behind these 49 enrollments? Check out our NEW Enrollment Engine now! https://schoolsofexcellence.com/enrollment-engine/

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

.

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

Every school leader we talk to is feeling the same crushing pressure:

• Enrollment numbers are dropping
• Marketing costs are skyrocketing
• Parents are becoming more selective than ever

Schools of Excellence has studied hundreds of schools who broke through the enrollment ceiling. They are not spending more money on marketing, a fancy website, or desperate discounts and panic pivots. They have done a complete system overhaul of intentional growth.

This episode, Chanie walks you through the strategic shifts that you can make today to revamp your enrollment ecosystem.

It all starts with three principles for success:

1. Mindset before mechanics.
2. Systems before tactics
3. Calendar before marketing

These changes can be made without spending a dollar on marketing and without putting in extra hours.

Tune in now!

If you're looking for how to actually manage your leads, do parent follow-up, create a parent referral system, and turn all of your staff into enrollment champions, check out our Enrollment Engine here!

YOUR PATH TO 25% GROWTH STARTS TODAYhttps://schoolsofexcellence.com/enrollment-engine

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

Millennial and Gen Z parents are engaged in what feels like an academic arms race — treating their children's education like a life or death strategic operation — and for good reason.

On average, these parents will spend a quarter of a million dollars on their child’s education, not to mention the emotional energy and strategic planning they dedicate.

The enrollment pressure compounds as families look for the perfect school and center owners and directors seek to convince them theirs is the right choice.

Let’s simplify this picture a bit. What if we said all Millennial and Gen Z parents fall into one of three categories?

Today’s episode explores Millennial and Gen Z parent archetypes:

1. Value Seekers
2. Community Seekers
3. Mission-aligned Families

Think about your parent roster, we can guarantee all your families fit into one of these archetypes.

Inside our new Enrollment Engine Program, we teach you how to identify your dominant parent avatars; craft messaging that feels like connection, not a sales pitch; and build trust through radical authenticity and accountability.

Ready to transform your enrollment? RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW! https://schoolsofexcellence.com/enrollment-advantage/

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

We see how hard you’re working as you continue to lose money to free pre-k programs. We see you losing sleep over next month’s enrollment. We see you struggling to maintain your rates while spots remain empty.

Now, we want you to pause and answer this question: What are you doing to drive enrollment?

Unfortunately, most school leaders are prioritizing activities that are farthest from the cash.

Instead of changing the answering machine, try personally calling inquiry families. Instead of rearranging the front desk, try conducting another tour. Instead of updating your website colors, try creating a meaningful connection.

These changes are just the beginning. This episode breaks down “The Enrollment Formula” that has worked for hundreds of schools.

You’ll learn four valuable and actionable frameworks to actually increase enrollment:

1. Enrollment Protection Blocks
2. Systematic Follow-Up
3. Proactive Engagement Strategy
4. Team Alignment and Training

Want access to these frameworks and more? They’re part of our Enrollment Engine — a comprehensive transformation on how you approach school growth.

REVOLUTIONIZE YOUR ENROLLMENT APPROACH! Visit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/enrollment-engine

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

This episode looks a little different. Chanie was recently joined by school leaders, just like yourself, who are ready to join the top schools that are growing enrollment by 25% without cutting rates or compromising quality.

What you’ll learn in this workshop replay:

1. Profit Messaging™: How to clearly communicate your center's unique value
2. Profit Calendar™: Creating a systematic approach to enrollment activities
3. Profit Pipeline™: Managing and converting potential families effectively

You can turn potential into profit.

Ready to create such compelling value that families can’t help but become a part of your story? Check out our NEW Enrollment Engine now! https://schoolsofexcellence.com/enrollment-engine/

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

We know there’s a lot of hesitancy around financial conversations, but let’s overcome that discomfort to acknowledge this truth: enrollment and finances are two sides of the same coin. When we’re content with “fine but could be better” enrollment numbers, we are leaving money on the table.

Let's say you have two open spots in your Pre-K classroom. It doesn't sound like a lot, but if we do the math, those two spots add up to $2,500 in loss revenue every single month. That's $30,000 a year you could be making.

We call this a profit blind spot.

In this episode, you’ll learn about the four profit blind spots that could be costing you thousands of dollars each month in revenue:

1. The comfort zone trap
2. Invisible money leaks
3. The role of educators in showcasing value
4. The pitfalls of reactive scheduling

You CAN turn these blind spots into opportunities.

Master the three-tier Profit Pipeline™ that converts leads faster. Join us for the Daily Profit Plan Workshop, Wednesday, Feb. 5th at 2 PM EST. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/enrollment/

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

There is an educational extinction event happening right now. You're not just losing students. You are witnessing the systemic dismantling of traditional education.

In the last three years alone, 37 % of private schools have seen enrollment drop by over 20%. And the numbers continue to worsen. But you don’t have to continue fighting just to survive.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to become irreplaceable by:

1. converting inquiries into enrolled families
2. maximizing every opportunity in your profit and growth journey
3. transforming how parents perceive your value

Remember: You can find your way out of enrollment desperation and back to a reliable, predictable enrollment system that delivers consistent results regardless of the season.

Learn how to command your school's value without cutting rates. Join our Daily Profit Plan Workshop, Feb 5th at 2 PM EST. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/enrollment/

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

When we struggle with enrollment, we say things like:

• “Free pre-K is killing us.”
• “We lost our grant funding.”
• “Our city keeps changing the rules.”
• “The minimum wage keeps increasing. It's destroying our margins.”
• “Parents only care about price right now.”

Schools of Excellence hears you, but we’re going to flip this narrative…

These are not your real problems. These are symptoms.

In today’s episode, you will learn the three fundamental barriers actually preventing schools from enrolling families right now:

1. Reactive versus intentional enrollment
2. Ineffective messaging
3. The lack of an enrollment ecosystem

The good news: You can overcome these barriers and build an enrollment approach so powerful that all the excuses you give become footnotes in your success story.

If you’re ready to find your way back to enrolling with ease, a natural family referral flow, and a waiting list of families, Schools of Excellence is hosting an interactive workshop — The Daily Profit Plan: Your Hidden Enrollment Engine — Wednesday, February 5th at 2 PM EST. Register now to walk away with your growth plan. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/enrollment

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

Whether you live in a bustling city or a quiet suburban area, the educational landscape is shifting. Schools can no longer depend on default systems or traditional approaches.

Can you feel it? We’re in the midst of a Great School Enrollment Awakening.

The old enrollment approach feels hollow and artificial. Parents are no longer looking for an institution; they’re seeking a community — one that honors their values and values them as members.

As we react to this shift as leaders, we fall into one of three categories:

1. The Sophistication Seekers
2. The Inactive Implementers
3. The Intuitive Transformers

If you know that your team's enrollment efforts aren't showing results like they used to and are ready to change that, join me for a free, interactive workshop — The Daily Profit Plan: Your Hidden Enrollment Engine — Wednesday, February 5th 22 at 2 PM EST. Register here! https://schoolsofexcellence.com/enrollment

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

Chanie was recently joined by women multi-site owners for a CEO Power Hour to uncover the money leaks in their operations. You cannot listen to this without saving some money. We promise!

In this episode you will learn:

1. Space Optimization Gaps
2. Payment System Leaks
3. Schedule Efficiency Gaps
4. Food Control Leaks
5. Supply Management Gaps
6. Administrative & Technical Systems

Discover the breakthrough approach used by the elite 1% of women multi-site owners.

To create your 2025 growth plan, hop on a profit finding session with the Schools of Excellence team. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/money-leaks/

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

High-achieving leaders understand how to align their goals and actions to drive meaningful progress in their centers.

In this episode, Chanie shares why the schools that will win in 2025 challenge conventional wisdom and embrace discomfort.

Chanie’s five powerful truths that will propel your leadership:

1. More is the enemy of high performance
2. Embrace the discomfort of pressure
3. It is not your effort, it is your environment that matters most
4. Take an unapologetic approach to marketing and messaging
5. The 30 to 60 day rule of goal setting

To explore how to join the Schools of Excellence community with leaders just like you, start here with our free consult call. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/consult

Mentioned in the episode: Watch the New School Playbook Workshop. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/families

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

Important reminder for every school leader who’s reading this:

You’re not just getting by or just managing a school; you’re transforming lives in your center one decision at a time.

In this episode, Chanie reconnects you to the heart of your mission and why you do what you do by walking through some celebration prompts for what you’ve achieved in 2024.

Need some inspiration to remember?

• Creative solutions you found for your budget
• The moments you got it right with your staff
• The most courageous decision you made this year

Treat yourself to the goodness of this episode. Soak it in. You deserve it.

Need this reminder more often? It happens everyday in our members community. Learn more by talking to one of our team members: SchoolsofExcellence.com/consult

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

This episode is for every school leader out there who feels there is no one in their life who “gets” the challenges of being the leader.

In this episode, Chanie is joined by Amy Retchless, an ECE owner from Frederick, Colorado.

Like all leaders, Amy has experienced various seasons as a school leader. In both the times she’s crushing it and when she needs a little more support, she’s found comfort in the Schools of Excellence community.

What you will learn:

1. The importance of setting work-life boundaries
2. How practicing meditation enhances you as a leader
3. The power of a supportive network

To explore how to join the Schools of Excellence community with leaders just like you, start here with our free consult call. SchoolsofExcellence.com/consult

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

Ashley Perron-Knutson, a fellow ECE leader, found herself at a crossroads with her center. She had to decide whether to continue struggling or commit to becoming the best leader she could be.



In this episode, Chanie and Ashley discuss how she regained clarity and organization with the frameworks she received as a Schools of Excellence member:

What you will learn:

1. How revamping your calendar rhythms reduces anxiety
2. What essential, effective foundational systems to build
3. Balancing your administrative duties while mentoring your team

Can you relate to Ashley and want to know how these frameworks can bring organization and calm to your day as a school director or owner? Get on a strategy call with the Schools of Excellence team. http://schoolsofexcellence.com/consult

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

This episode looks a little different than others.

November 14th, Chanie was joined by school leaders for an interactive workshop that tackled the complexity of attracting, engaging, and retaining families in 2024.

Are you ready to stop guessing what your families want and start knowing exactly how to connect with every family in your school?

In this episode, you will learn how to implement 5 power plays:

1. Know Your Families: Learn the exact data points that predict family satisfaction and longevity.
2. Speak Their Language: Master the art of creating parent avatars, a proven template that’s revolutionized communication for hundreds of schools.
3. Be Where They Are: Discover the channels and messages that resonate with modern families. (Stop wasting time on platforms your families don’t use!)
4. Train The Troops: Transform your team and teachers into family engagement experts, including our “quick-win” scripts for common scenarios.
5. Sync Your Calendars: Build a communication calendar that keeps families engaged and referring new ones!

As you listen, fill out this Power Play Action Plan worksheet. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/New-School-Playbook-Workshop-Worksheet-1-1.pdf

Then, book a call with our team to discuss how to customize this strategy for your school! https://schoolsofexcellence.com/consult

Watch the workshop replay on video here. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/workshop-new-school-playbook-replay/

Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

View Details

Need more enrollment? Learn this simple framework.

If you’re over generic solutions that don’t move the needle, and are ready for something tangible that can consistently attract, engage, and retain your families, listen in and register for the New School Playbook Workshop.

Design your new enrollment playbook in only 1 hour with our live interactive workshop - November 14th

To attend live or get the replay, you need to register at schoolsofexcellence.com/families

Ready to move faster?

Directors: Join the Director’s Inner Circle

Owners: Join the Owner’s HQ.

It starts with a free consult. Schedule your session now.

View Details

Whether it be election-related stress, end of the year hecticness, or just a busy season of your life, we can all benefit from creating moments of tranquility. Our bodies literally hold this stress inside us. It’s imperative we understand this for our long-term health.

Our mental state deeply impacts our physical state and the other way around. When our brains and bodies feel overwhelmed, it’s especially important to pause, to reset, and to lead from a place of calm and clarity.

What do you do when everything around you feels outside of your control? How do you take care of yourself?

In this episode, Chanie gets real about stress and how she’s helped herself and her own children not carry this around. She gives 3 immediate action steps to regain your balance amid the chaos of this time.

Mentioned in the episode: Chanie’s meditation for school leaders

Design your new enrollment playbook in only 1 hour with our live interactive workshop — November 14th

Register or learn more at schoolsofexcellence.com/families

Ready to move faster?

Directors: Join the Director’s Inner Circle

Owners: Join the Owner’s HQ.

It starts with a free consult. Schedule your session now.

View Details

The Playbook for enrolling new families in your school has changed. The old rules of building a website, sending a postcard and holding an open house just don’t work like they used to.

In previous episodes, Chanie emphasized taking action by knowing your families, speaking their language, being where they are, and training the troops.

Now it’s time to make it happen! Develop a weekly, monthly, and quarterly schedule to strategically adapt to your evolving school families.

In the fifth and final part of the New School Playbook series, Chanie shares what must happen so your whole team puts this plan into action: Sync Your Calendars.

Key Topics Discussed:

1. Start small with check-ins and team huddles to keep everyone on the same page, sharing insights from throughout the week about different families.
2. Avatars aren’t a “one and done” tool. Regularly update avatar profiles and strategies to best serve your families as they evolve.
3. Do a communication audit once a month, where you're ensuring that all outgoing messages align with the avatar preferences.

How can you create consistent rhythms to up-level your effectiveness as a staff? Listen in for action steps you can take today.

Design your new enrollment playbook in only 1 hour with our live interactive workshop - November 14th

Register or learn more at schoolsofexcellence.com/families

Ready to move faster?

Directors: Join the Director’s Inner Circle

Owners: Join the Owner’s HQ.

It starts with a free consult. Schedule your session now.

Mentioned in this episode:

New School Playbook

View Details

The Playbook for enrolling new families in your school has changed. The old rules of building a website, sending a postcard, and holding an open house just don’t work like they used to.

In today’s episode, the fourth part of the New School Playbook Series, Chanie breaks down how to Train Your Troops.

We’ve all had awkward social interactions — accidentally bumping into someone, forgetting someone’s name, or even realizing that we had a stain on our shirt after running into someone we haven’t seen in years. Afterward, we’re left wishing everything went smoother.

As school leaders and staff, we’re interacting with a diverse collection of families daily, so it’s extra important that we all understand how to best conduct ourselves in a professional, yet still friendly and helpful, manner.

Key Topics Discussed:

1. Generational differences in communication skills. Some staff members excel at in-person interactions, and others at digital interactions, but we need them to be successful at both.
2. Being sensitive to the diverse backgrounds of our families. When we learn how to cultivate more cultural sensitivity, we learn how to be more accepting of other people and break down social barriers.
3. Educating staff on the different parent avatars (see episode 201!) What makes one family feel respected and heard doesn’t work for everyone. Once your staff understands the parent avatars at your center, they can cater their interactions to the appropriate style for every family.

What training do your troops need? Tune in for action steps you can take today!

Design your new enrollment playbook in only 1 hour with our live interactive workshop - November 14th

Register or learn more at schoolsofexcellence.com/families

Ready to move faster?

Directors: Join the Director’s Inner Circle

Owners: Join the Owner’s HQ.

It starts with a free consult. Schedule your session now.

Mentioned in this episode:

New School Playbook

View Details

The Playbook for enrolling new families in your school has changed. The old rules of building a website, sending a postcard and holding an open house just don’t work like they used to.

How many different ways are you sending out information to your families? Maybe it’s just one email. Or maybe it’s seven emails, 4 texts and a printed flyer.

When you step back and examine your different parent avatars (listen to the previous episode to learn how to build yours), you can start to understand when to send text or email and easily personalize that to best suit all of your families.

In part three of the New School Playbook series, Chanie shares how to Be Where They Are:

Key Topics Discussed:

1. Your messages become invisible to a large portion of your community if you’re not sending them to what they check (i.e. are they text or email people?)
2. In-person events will always create the best lasting impression. When a parent has a positive interaction with your school at an event, they will tell an average of nine other people. How do you make these kind of events?
3. How do you know if your messages are even being read? Learn how to audit your current communication methods and see how many people are actually opening and viewing them.

Mentioned in this episode:

If you need to increase enrollment right away, check out episode 191

Design your new enrollment playbook in only 1 hour with our live interactive workshop — November 14th

Register or learn more at: schoolsofexcellence.com/families

Ready to move faster?

Directors: Join the Director’s Inner Circle

Owners: Join the Owner’s HQ

It starts with a free consult. Schedule your session now.

Mentioned in this episode:

New School Playbook

View Details

The Playbook for enrolling new families in your school has changed. The old rules of building a website, sending a postcard and holding an open house just don’t work like they used to.

Think about how good it feels when someone notices something that’s uniquely you and engages with that in mind… You’re a person who matters to them. When you can achieve this with your families, you create a connection that makes a big difference in your school’s success.

In part two of the New School Playbook series, Chanie shares how to reach families when you: Speak Their Language.

Key Topics Discussed:

1. Adjusting your communication and involvement expectations to the diversity of your parent demographics and community - single parent families, large families, first generation, both parents working - you see where I’m going? They all have different needs - and you as a director don’t need to overwork yourself trying to meet them. (Keep reading!)
2. Creating key avatars of your families that speak to their needs in words they relate to is possible and not only simplifies the challenge for you, but allows each family to be truly heard and seen.
3. Chanie’s quick action step: Start with simple exercises like a communication audit of last week’s emails, tweak the language to be more inclusive and connective to more of your family dynamics. Then press send and test it out!

This is the second in the series to help you develop a NEW playbook for your school enrollment and retention strategies.

Listen and be prepared for some practical action steps for implementing these new tactics that work!

Design your new enrollment playbook in only 1 hour with our free, interactive workshop — November 14th

Register or learn more at: schoolsofexcellence.com/families

Ready to move faster?

Directors: Join the Director’s Inner Circle

Owners: Join the Owner’s HQ.

It starts with a free consult. Schedule your session now.

Mentioned in this episode:

New School Playbook

View Details

The Playbook for enrolling new families in your school has changed. The old rules of building a website, sending a postcard and holding an open house just don’t work like they used to.

In part one of this series, Chanie will be sharing the 5 new power plays to attract, engage, and retain families.

The first is: Know Your Families.

Key Ideas:

1. We know you want to know your families and think that you do, but there are new family dynamics to understand and adapt to.
2. Traditional methods of surveys and parent-teacher conferences need an uplevel.
3. What keeps families around for long term retention is no longer - flexible schedules, fun events and general communication. Learn what keeps your families happy now.

This is first in a series to help you develop a NEW playbook for your school enrollment and retention strategies.

Listen and get ready to take notes on these new tactics that work for today’s families.

Design your new enrollment playbook in only 1 hour with our live interactive workshop - November 14th Register or learn more at:

Schoolsofexcellence.com/families

Ready to move faster?

Directors: Join the Director’s Inner Circle

Owners: Join the Owner’s HQ.

It starts with a free consult. Schedule your session now.

Mentioned in this episode:

New School Playbook

View Details

How can mentor relationships stabilize and strengthen the core of your organization and have an impact on your life?

In this episode Chanie talks with Todd Herman, renowned leadership coach and author of "The Alter Ego Effect," and her mentor of 9 years. He shares personal stories and strategies that have helped him successfully mentor high achievers, Olympians, and entrepreneurs, offering valuable lessons that can be applied in educational settings.

Key Topics:

1. The Power of Questions: Discover how asking the right questions can transform coaching and leadership, and learn Todd Herman’s categories of questions that can deepen understanding and communication.
2. Mentorship vs. Coaching: Understand the distinct roles of mentors and coaches, and why it's an important to know the difference.
3. Empathy and Adaptability: Learn how empathy and adaptability can enhance your leadership and create a supportive environment for both students and staff.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

Todd can be found here:

https://toddherman.me/

Linked In toddherman1

Facebook @toddherman1

Instagram @Todd_Herman

X todd_herman

His Books: The Alter Ego, My Super Me

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Picture this–you’re walking through your school, juggling urgent emails, staff questions, and never-ending paperwork.

The days blur together as you tackle one crisis after another. But what if there was a way to break free from this chaos?

In this week’s episode, Chanie addresses a critical challenge faced by school leaders: being trapped in the day-to-day operations. Chanie explains how creating a “Work Smarter” calendar can revolutionize your leadership approach, allowing you to move from reactive management to proactive, strategic leadership. With practical insights into time blocking, delegation, and the importance of regular review sessions, Chanie guides early education leaders, school teachers, and administrators through the steps to regain control of their time and focus on what truly matters–leading their schools to success.

Key Topics Discussed:

• How being stuck in daily tasks prevents school leaders from focusing on strategic growth and long-term planning.
• How to design a calendar that includes time for personal wellness, team development, and high-level tasks, creating boundaries to ensure work-life balance.
• The key to delegating effectively and empowering your team to take ownership of tasks while freeing up your time for leadership activities.
• The mindset shift required to treat your calendar like a muscle–consistently exercising strategic time management to build a thriving school.

So, are you ready to unveil the secrets to escaping the day-to-day grind and becoming the visionary leader your school needs?

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

In the journey of life, we often encounter moments that challenge our resilience and redefine our understanding of joy.

Join Chanie, as she courageously shares her deeply personal experience with pregnancy loss, revealing the unexpected lessons that emerged from her heartache and healing.

In this week’s episode of Schools of Excellence, Chanie opens up about her emotional journey following a pregnancy loss. From the initial joy of discovering her pregnancy to the profound heartache that followed, she explores how this experience reshaped her perspective on healing, resilience, and the importance of community support. Chanie emphasizes the significance of self-care and acknowledges the full range of emotions that accompany grief, Through heartfelt reflections, she highlights the importance of embracing vulnerability and finding ways to honor losses while navigating the complexities of personal and professional life.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The distinction between being okay and getting over a loss.
• The importance of celebrating progress in the healing process.
• Personal stories of community and mentorship provide essential support.
• Ways couples can reconnect and support each other through shared experiences.
• Strategies for integrating gratitude and relaxation into daily life.

Chanie’s story serves as a powerful reminder that healing is a journey filled with ups and downs. By sharing our experiences, we can collectively navigate the complexities of grief and joy.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

What does it take to move from survival mode to true leadership?

In this week’s episode, Chanie interviews Mel Elridge, a director at an early education lab school, who shares her powerful transformation since joining the Schools of Excellence program in 2020. Together, they explore how Mel built stronger connections within her team, shifted her mindset from chaos to growth, and implemented practical systems that foster a healthier work-life balance.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The vitality of cultivating social connection within school staff for creating a healthy, supportive environment.
• How leadership development rooted in mindset shifts and strong foundational values is essential for sustainable growth.
• Practical time management systems, like time-blocking, allow leaders to balance professional responsibilities and personal well-being.
• The importance of trusting the value of your program and investing in its growth and its effects on effective advocacy for school resources.
• Embracing difficult conversations as an opportunity for growth strengthens school leadership and relationships.

Mel’s journey offers valuable lessons for any early education leader seeking sustainable growth and a thriving school culture.

We support ECE leaders like you to grow their enrollment, retain their staff, and create freedom!

To learn more about how to work with us, apply here for a call!

https://airtable.com/app35MKA8diZnD2WQ/shrse1exQfLyrXszS

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

A parent is standing at your school's front desk, full of questions about how your program will fit their family’s unique needs.

Now, multiply that by dozens of families, each with different backgrounds, expectations, and concerns.

How do you speak to all of them with each of their individual needs?

In this episode, Chanie introduces her Parent Archetypes Framework, helping schools decode the unique needs of families—from first-time parents to multicultural families and grandparent guardians. By tailoring communication and marketing strategies to each family type, schools can boost enrollment and foster stronger, lasting relationships with parents. Chanie also shares actionable steps for training staff to interact more effectively with each parent archetype, ensuring smooth operations and engaged communities.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Identifying and supporting first-time parents, multicultural families, and grandparent guardians.
• Crafting marketing strategies that resonate with each parent archetype.
• Training staff to improve parent engagement and satisfaction.

This episode provides a wealth of knowledge for school leaders aiming to enhance their marketing and communication strategies by truly understanding the diverse needs of their school’s parent community.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

What do you do when two of your most trusted teachers have unexpectedly handed in their resignations?

This is the reality of staff turnover faced by many school leaders.

In this episode of the Schools of Excellence podcast, Chanie delves into the multifaceted issue of staff retention within early education centers. Drawing on her extensive research and hands-on experience, Chanie introduces the "Retention Intelligence Framework" and guides school leaders on how to build a positive and sustainable culture that caters to the diverse needs of their staff, ultimately reducing turnover.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The significance of using real data to drive retention decisions in schools, moving away from assumptions and gut feelings.
• The seven key reasons why staff leave early education centers.
• How demographic mapping can inform more effective and personalized retention strategies.
• How to utilize the six channels of intelligence for gathering data on staff retention to discover meaningful insights and improve staff retention.
• The five pillars necessary for creating a strong culture of retention, focusing on community, work-life harmony, accountability, contribution, and promotion.

Ready to reduce staff turnover in your school?

We support ECE leaders like you to grow their enrollment, retain their staff, and create freedom!

To learn more about how to work with us, apply here for a call!

https://airtable.com/app35MKA8diZnD2WQ/shrse1exQfLyrXszS

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Making decisions when leading in the school system can feel like a storm, and with the economic state of things, it can feel like the storm is only getting stronger.

But… as you navigate the turbulent waters of school management, you may be surprised to find out that the right strategies can turn challenges into opportunities.

In this episode of Schools of Excellence, Chanie breaks down critical strategies for early education leaders to optimize cash flow, manage enrollment challenges, and stand out in a competitive market. She shares actionable tips on aligning your calendar with profit-driven activities, leveraging underutilized spaces, and understanding your school’s unique value proposition.

Key Topics Discussed:

• How implementing strategies like increasing registration fees, accelerating accounts receivable, and renegotiating contracts boost cash flows.
• Strategically planning your calendar to focus on profit-driven events and lead generation in order to sustain enrollment growth.
• How to identify and repurpose underutilized areas in your school for additional revenue streams.
• The importance of making informed decisions based on hard data from parent surveys and market trends, rather than just anecdotal evidence.

Tune in to learn how to navigate economic uncertainties while maximizing your school’s profitability and strategic advance!

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

I know you know that feeling of immense overwhelm when you look at the endless tasks on your school calendar.

A pit in your stomach starts to form just by looking at everything you need to accomplish with such little time.

But it doesn’t always have to feel that way…

In this episode, Chanie reveals the secrets to mastering calendar audits and making strategic decisions that align with your school’s long-term goals. Through personal anecdotes and practical advice, Chanie illustrates how thoughtful decision-making can keep a school’s operations aligned with its core priorities. By conducting regular audits, school leaders can identify blind spots, optimize their schedules, and stay focused on what truly matters.

Key Discussion Points:

• The critical role of regular calendar audits in ensuring alignment with school goals and priorities.
• How to differentiate between anxious, hasty decisions and calm, strategic choices that drive long-term success.
• The impact of prioritization on your school’s profitability, retention, and enrollment outcomes.
• Understanding and leveraging lead metrics to maintain accountability and focus within your school’s operations.
• How the Schools of Excellence framework can help streamline your leadership practices, maximizing time and efficiency.

Whether you’re an anxious decision-maker or someone looking to fine-tune your scheduling practices, this episode offers invaluable insights into optimizing your time and resources!

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Struggling with school enrollment can feel like navigating a maze of challenges and stress, leaving you wondering if there’s a clear path to attracting and retaining families.

Join Chanie Wilschanski as she cuts through the confusion and reveals actionable strategies to transform your enrollment process, turning it from a daunting task into a streamlined, effective approach. Chanie goes over three key tactics that can drive immediate results and set the stage for long-term success. These tactics are also tailored to help create meaningful connections and attract new families for enrollment.

Key Discussion Points:

• The effectiveness of tailoring incentives to the unique preferences of each family to significantly enhance referral programs.
• How to leverage face-to-face interactions by visiting local establishments like gyms, spas, and apartment buildings.
• Observing and listening effectively to community conversations can help school leaders refine their marketing strategies to address real concerns and attract new families.

Tune in to learn how practical strategies can enhance your school’s visibility and drive enrollment success!

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

In the demanding world of early education, balancing professional challenges and personal life can feel overwhelming.

So, how did Stacy Smith, founder of Big Timber Daycare, transform her childcare center into a thriving example of integrated leadership and personal fulfillment?

Join Chanie Wilschanski as she and Stacy delve into the transformative effects of values-based leadership on both professional and personal realms. Stacy opens up about her journey in reshaping her approach to leading a childcare center, balancing business demands with personal life, and integrating effective strategies for sustainable success. Listeners will gain actionable insights on leading with integrity, managing challenges, and aligning personal values with professional goals.

Key Discussion Points:

• How leading with core values can shape both professional success and personal fulfillment.
• Strategies for integrating effective business practices with maintaining personal wellness.
• Insights into the specific hurdles faced in running a childcare center and how to address them.
• Practical advice for ensuring personal values and career objectives are in harmony.

Tune in to discover actionable strategies for aligning your leadership approach with core values, balancing business and personal well-being, and overcoming the unique challenges of early education.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

When I lived in New York, I spent a lot of time inside during the winter because I didn’t want to freeze my face.

But here in Florida, it’s the exact opposite.

I find myself indoors all summer because I don’t want to melt.

My older kids are away at camp, and Mayer’s and my work schedules both have a little bit more flexibility.

We’ve started a family tradition of using the summer to assess our household.

Is there maintenance we need to do on the house?

Do we want to cancel some streaming subscriptions?

How will we give back to our community in the next 12 months?

It will always inconvenience someone for us to pause and go through our household assessments.

Maybe we’ll be without a washer for a few days as a new one gets put in, or maybe we’ll take the morning off work to guide a handyman through the house.

But summer is the least inconvenient time to go through these upgrades and tweaks.

Schools follow a similar pattern.

Even if you run summer programs, there are usually fewer people in the building this time of year.

Families go on vacation. Teachers might take off time to travel. Kids are at Disney World or at their grandparents’ house out of state.

Plus, you’re in the perfect position to reflect on what went well last school year, and what didn’t.

That makes right now the ideal moment to enhance your school leadership through audits, assessments, and evaluations.

In this week's podcast episode, I discuss the types of school audits that might be right for you and why summer is the perfect time to take on this project.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Qualities of summertime that make it ideal for reflection and strategic planning
• Types of audits you may wish to consider for your school this summer
• Astute questions to ask yourself as you evaluate what’s working and what’s not
• A shortcut to prevent you from reinventing the wheel when it comes to school audits

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

Going through school audits can feel super overwhelming. If you apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs, you’ll learn the next best steps to keep you strategic and calm. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community to help you build a school of excellence.

If your audit finds a big hole in your processes or a massive opportunity to shift your systems, I’d love to support your next steps. During a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive, you'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through obstacles and build a stronger, healthier center that values self-care. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

One of my clients is a school owner who hired a new director to lead a brand-new location.

In the beginning, the director was doing a great job.

But then she started to fall short… including on tasks that were not all that complicated.

The owner was concerned the director was acting helpless, especially when it came to her regular duties.

She said to me, “Chanie, I don’t know what to do. What do I tell her? How do I train her?”

If she wanted to invest in this director, I suggested she take her out to breakfast. Spend some time getting to know her, human to human.

So they went out to breakfast.

It wasn’t a one-on-one meeting. It wasn’t a performance review. It was not an interrogation.

It was a chance for them to build a relationship outside the context of work, over coffee and a relaxing meal.

It went so well, they decided to keep it up every month for the next six months.

As the owner got to know her director better, and the more she came to understand who she was as a person, the owner became more empathetic.

And that empathy caused something surprising to happen:

The more empathetic the owner became towards her director, the less afraid she was to hold her accountable.

Knowing what’s going on with someone can actually make it easier to hold them accountable because you’re better able to express both expectations and empathy. Candor and kindness.

Before they knew it, the director had extricated herself from her helplessness, and she was back to being a high-performing professional.

In this week's podcast episode, I’m discussing ways you, as an ECE leader, can guide your staff out of those sneaky feelings of helplessness, while boosting morale and creating a healthier school.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The six main reasons your teammates could fall into a state of helplessness
• Why certain factors lead to feelings of helplessness
• How you can take proactive steps to prevent your staff from feeling helpless
• Ways to coach your staff out of a state of helplessness while keeping morale high

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

If you are feeling overwhelmed and helpless as a school leader, I encourage you to apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. Inside, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you build a school of excellence.

Is there a helplessness epidemic at your school? It’s time to shift the culture. During a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive, you'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through obstacles and build a stronger, healthier center that values self-care. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

I remember when I got my first W2 job when I was 19.

I was so proud and excited.

I was working hard, showing up every day, and doing my best.

But when I got that first paycheck, my heart sank.

I thought, “There’s something wrong. This is not the amount that was in my contract.”

I went to my boss and gently let her know about the mistake.

Little did I know there was no mistake.

She showed me the other side of the paycheck, with taxes, benefits, and withholdings.

It was Greek to me. I had no idea how the working world operated.

When I look back at that memory, I cringe.

And I honestly hope you cringe at your past self, too.

Because if you’re cringing by looking back, that means you’ve grown a whole lot in the intervening years.

Just remember, some of your employees are new to the ECE field—or are new to working in general, just like I was at 19.

You’ve hired a teacher for whom you have high expectations.

And they want to meet those expectations.

But before they can master classroom management and parent communication and curriculum planning…

They need to know the basics.

Where’s the bathroom? How do they clock in? Where are the supplies?

In this week's podcast episode, I invite you to temper your expectations while maintaining your high standards.

I want to encourage you to define and then tolerate “good enough” for long enough, so you can build a school of excellence.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Why setting realistic expectations fosters an environment of growth
• How to determine what “good enough” means for each employee
• Ideas for supporting teachers in achieving good enough without sacrificing high standards
• Why growing through the learning curve cultivates better employee performance in the long run

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

If perfectionism is your middle name, and you’re open to a loving reality check that ultimately benefits your teachers, your center, and you, I encourage you to apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

Are you adjusting how you onboard new staff at your school and you are craving support as you adjust your expectations? Allow me to help. During a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive, you'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through obstacles and build a stronger, healthier center that values self-care. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

Big decisions are tough.

I was speaking with one of my clients who was considering letting a director go.

There was a clear mismatch of values between the director and the school.

Everything the owner had tried to get the director on track had failed.

And yet if she fired the director, the owner would have to expand her workload. She would get stuck doing all the director’s tasks, even though she was already tired. Plus, she would have to go through the exhausting process of hiring a replacement.

It all sounded like too much.

While she knew there was a discrepancy in values, she was considering continuing to put up with it.

I invited her to journal about the situation.

On the left side of her page, I asked her to write “What do my fear and my ego say?”

On the right side of her page, I asked her to write, “What does my higher self say?”

She spent some time expressing her thoughts on paper.

It gave her the clarity she needed: it was vital that she let the director go.

After journaling, she had so much more clarity, assurance, poise, and ease around the decision and the challenging conversation to follow.

Journaling is one of the great strategies I use for managing the challenging—and often conflicting—emotions that come up when we have to make big decisions.

In this week's podcast episode, I discuss additional methods of navigating complex emotions while we’re in the decision-making process.

Join me for a conversation about:

• How mindfulness can impact your ability to make wise decisions
• A calendaring strategy that encourages decision breakthroughs
• Why speedy decision-making doesn’t correlate to intelligence or wisdom
• Ways to assess when you need to make the decision

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

Decision-making is a key leadership skill that isn’t as intuitive as it sounds. For continuous coaching and support, I encourage you to apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

Are you facing a big decision right now? Are you looking for support as you make a significant shift? During a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive, you'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team build a stronger, healthier center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

View Details

During my second year of teaching, I was only 20 years old.

Our school had teachers do home visits before the school year started, so the child could get to know their teacher before entering the classroom.

I remember one home visit distinctly because the child’s mom came on so strong.

“How old are you? Do you have a college degree? Are you in a relationship? Have you ever provided childcare before?”

She interrogated me.

I remember thinking, “This woman’s going to eat me alive!”

The insecurity I felt is really common for new teachers. They don’t know how to be a leader yet, and they’re too green to conduct themselves with discretion and grace.

On the other hand, veteran teachers have a lot more self-assurance because of their years of experience.

In this week's podcast episode, I’m talking about the difference between new and veteran teachers when it comes to leadership and decision-making.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The pros and cons of both types of teachers when it comes to curriculum planning
• Types of classroom management guidance you can offer veteran and new teachers
• Inherent advantages veteran teachers have when it comes to parent communication
• Guidance you can provide new teachers when it comes to crises and professional boundaries

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

Nurturing your staff is an ongoing endeavor, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. For continuous coaching and support, I encourage you to apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

As you discern how to best guide and show appreciation for both veteran and new staff, you may be looking for personalized ideas and guidance. During a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive, you'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team build a stronger, healthier center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

View Details

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

Get access to the Classroom Management Blueprint here: https://discovered.thrivecart.com/the-classroom-management-blueprint/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

View Details

Recently, I was reading an article in the Journal of Human Resources that highlighted a difference in the teaching practices between veteran teachers and new teachers.

Veteran teachers demonstrate confidence and expertise in the classroom. They’re experienced, and they love to be recognized for what they’ve brought to your school.

New teachers are more likely to experiment and innovate, especially when it comes to integrating technology into the class. They’re searching for mentorship and validation.

Both are so valuable for any school. One is silver and the other gold.

This week, I’m kicking off a new three-part series in the podcast about the differences between veteran and new staff in ECE schools.

Our focus in the first episode is how the two groups manage parent and child engagement.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Key indicators regarding whether someone is a veteran or a new staff member
• How you, as a leader, can support both veteran and new staff at your school as they interact with parents and children
• Pros and cons to both groups’ approaches and what they can learn from each other
• Why one-size-fits-all approaches aren’t going to work for your staff
• How you can break down your biases and create a supportive environment for all staff

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

Want to boost your leadership skills so you can be a better mentor for the veteran and new staff under your care? I encourage you to apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you build and grow a thriving school of excellence.

If you’re seeking ways to better support all the staff at your center, regardless of how long they’ve worked with you, I’d love to help you. During a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive, you'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through obstacles and build a stronger, healthier center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

In 2019, Kathy owned three ECE centers near Richmond, Virginia.

She felt a lot of empathy for the dedicated women who worked in her school.

They always were the kind of people who would always give, give, give without receiving in return.

They were burning the midnight oil and without inner peace. That meant burnout was on the horizon.

Kathy knew she couldn’t guide them as a leader just yet, because she was exactly the same.

She was running herself ragged wearing all the hats in her school.

When she reached her breaking point, she realized that work can always come and go, but family and her own health can’t.

She needed to prioritize her well-being.

This caused a culture shift at her school. “If I’m going to make time for my family and myself, I need to give my staff time for their family and themselves too,” she said.

Today, she owns five centers. Despite the expansion, she’s gained more balance, self-care, and boundaries than ever, allowing her, her colleagues, and her school to thrive.

In this week's podcast episode, I speak with Kathy about her leadership journey over the last three decades, and how she has completely transformed herself and her school.

Join us for a conversation about:

• What Kathy wishes she’d known thirty years ago when she entered the field
• How she improved time management and productivity with systems and technology
• Why compassion and community are integral to Kathy’s leadership growth
• How she’s thinking about the future as she and her husband build their legacy
• How she got the most out of her coaching experience with Schools of Excellence

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

If Kathy’s story resonates with you and you suspect you’d go farther with a like-minded community and laser-focused personal mentoring, I encourage you to apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

If you and your leadership team are wearing all the hats, and you know you need to shuffle your company culture, allow me to help. During a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive, you'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through obstacles and build a stronger, healthier center that values self-care. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

View Details

Recently, I was speaking with an owner who was opening a second location.

Despite this being an exciting time for her school, she was drowning in shame.

“Chanie, I keep starting and stopping, starting and stopping,” she told me.

I asked her what she meant.

She told me she felt ashamed that she couldn’t be consistent with her decisions. “I keep creating policies, implementing them, then getting pushback, and changing the policy again. I feel like I’m always backing out of my commitments.”

First of all, there’swisdom in flexibility, and sometimes updating a policy is the right step.

But in this owner’s case, she needed to build her self-trust so she could banish the shame.

And she was taking the perfect next step by exposing her difficult emotions in a conversation with me.

Shame thrives in the dark, but it withers in the light.

When you share your shame with a trusted mentor or community, it doesn’t seem so insurmountable anymore. This is what it means to win in the dark when it comes to shame.

Join me in the podcast this week for a conversation about:

• Why shame and anger are common emotions for school leaders
• What promotes the growth of shame and anger, and conversely, what loosens their grip
• What your anger is telling you and to what extent you should listen
• How to win in the dark by finding constructive ways to proceed around your anger
• Real-life examples of how school leaders have overcome shame and anger, and managed to cultivate community and collaboration

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

Don’t let shame thrive in the dark. Shine a light on it by joining a genuinely supportive community. You’ll loosen shame’s grip on your heart as you learning it’s safe to be vulnerable with like-minded school leaders who truly get it. Please apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs, where you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

If you want the guidance of a caring, experienced mentor as you navigate challenging emotions, I welcome you to work with Schools of Excellence through a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training and discussions with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team build a stronger, healthier center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

Strategic Summer Workshop

To learn more and sign up here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summer

Strategic Summer Workshop

Strategic Summer Workshop

To learn more and sign up here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summer

Strategic Summer Workshop

View Details

My client, Jaycee, was doing something truly amazing. She’d worked hard and put in extra hours to build a culture of teacher collaboration.

As a result, there was unity within the staff, and children’s learning and engagement soared.

She was really pleased with the outcome.

…But no one else seemed to notice.

She brought the question to the Schools of Excellence community for owners and directors.

She kept reassuring us, “I am happy! This is exactly what I wanted.”

And then she’d add, “I just wish other people knew.”

However, the experience of sharing her unseen efforts and the endurance it required to lead with impact (but without acknowledgment), was enough.

She discovered she didn’t need accolades from teachers or parents because she had a safe community and because the end result was intrinsically rewarding.

I want to go deeper into the topic of winning in the dark—the phenomenon of discreetly or invisibly achieving success and overcoming challenges.

This week, I’m unveiling the first episode of a three-part series on the Schools of Excellence Podcast about winning in the dark.

In this week's podcast episode, I’m beginning the discussion with an exploration of the concepts of enoughness and worthiness.

It’s common to hinge your self-worth on what praise and acknowledgment you receive.

If you achieve your goal, but no one notices, are you still satisfied? Do you try to fill the void by going on to the next project before you take a few weeks or months to appreciate what you’ve accomplished?

If this sounds like you, you may have an opportunity to build up your sense of enoughness and worthiness.

Join me in the podcast this week for a conversation about:

• How to discern whether you are struggling with enoughness
• Common external pressures that can impact how worthy you feel
• Why winning in the dark is especially challenging in the age of social media
• The gap between intellectually and emotionally knowing you’re enough
• Strategies for how to become unshakeable in your self-trust

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

Spoiler alert: One of the key strategies for building self-trust and worthiness is to join a supportive community. By sharing your wins with like-minded school leaders who truly get it, you’ll find the quiet recognition you crave. I encourage you to apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

Having an engaged and insightful mentor is a great way to guide you through the quiet obstacles that eventually lead to winning in the darkness. Work through your current biggest challenge with a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team build a stronger, healthier center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

Strategic Summer Workshop

To learn more and sign up here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summer

Strategic Summer Workshop

Strategic Summer Workshop

To learn more and sign up here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summer

Strategic Summer Workshop

View Details

I’m one of the few people who actually enjoys public speaking.

Walking onto a stage excites me, and I gain a lot of energy from interacting with a crowd.

But I know I’m an outlier.

Most people panic when they’re asked to give a thought-provoking response in front of the whole staff with no advanced warning.

You can avoid this reaction in your staff meetings while creating a more thoughtful gathering. My suggestion is to prepare a handful of teachers ahead to be called on—and let them know the question early.

This is one of the tips I provide in my latest podcast episode about leading a productive, curated final staff meeting of the school year.

Join me for a conversation about how to:

• Discern what needs to be discussed in a meeting versus in an email
• Empower your team to learn from their frustrations and embrace innovation
• Navigate challenges without relying on auto-pilot and “the way we’ve always done it”
• Collaborate to bring future aspirations into reality as the next year gets underway
• Co-create tangible reminders of positive memories from the school year

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

As you reflect on the 2023-2024 school year, you may wish you’d had more like-minded community or personalized support. If so, I encourage you to start the next year on the right foot by applying now for the Schools of Excellence Director’s Inner Circle or Owner’s HQ membership program. Inside, you’ll receive ongoing tools, coaching, and an engaged community that will help you work toward building a school of excellence.

Every school is unique, which is why I also offer an option for short-term super-individualized support for you and your school. During your Leadership Day Intensive, you'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your center thrive. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

Strategic Summer Workshop

To learn more and sign up here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summer

Strategic Summer Workshop

Strategic Summer Workshop

To learn more and sign up here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summer

Strategic Summer Workshop

View Details

In January, the internet was full of cute memes about going back to the gym, eating salads, and recommitting to your health.

At the end of the calendar year, school leaders often take a look at fiscal performance and next year’s goals.

But right now, as the school year comes to a close, we tend to focus on the next thing.

Our brains are already in summer mode. We are entering a new season for our lives and our schools.

But what if, before jumping head-first into what’s next, we took a moment to breathe?

What if we paused for self-reflection?

The quality of your life is determined, in large part, by the quality of the questions you ask yourself.

This week on the podcast, I want to invite you to self-reflect with some thought-provoking questions you won’t hear anywhere else.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Significance: What gives your work significance? Is that changing as you grow as a leader? Is there anything you need to let go of?
• Impact: What is the effect of your leadership, decisions, and actions on your school and its stakeholders?
• Relationships: How well do you understand the needs of your team members and the families at your school? How well do you meet those needs?
• Vision: At your current breakneck pace, will your 70th birthday be the first time you have a chance to think about the legacy you’re creating through your work?
• Personal Growth: How are you being intentional about growing as a leader? After all, the world keeps changing, and so do we.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

Ready to define your own metrics of success within a supportive environment of like-minded school leaders? Apply for the Schools of Excellence Director’s Inner Circle or Owner’s HQ membership program. Inside, you’ll receive tools, coaching, and an engaged community that will help you build a school of excellence.

With individualized coaching, you can learn even more ways to evaluate success. For personalized support for you and your school, let’s work together in a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your center thrive. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

Strategic Summer Workshop

To learn more and sign up here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summer

Strategic Summer Workshop

Strategic Summer Workshop

To learn more and sign up here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summer

Strategic Summer Workshop

View Details

In 2020, everyone’s world turned upside-down

Sioux Falls school owner Cayla Rush knew there was too much on her plate as the pandemic began, but she didn’t see an alternative.

She felt it was her responsibility to make countless decisions that could impact the health and well-being of her staff, herself, and the families she served.

“My self-trust was shaken,” she told me. “Before 2020, I felt like I could trust myself to make decisions. But then that went out the window.”

That’s when we met.

Instead of allowing herself to remain stuck, Cayla joined the Schools of Excellence Owner’s HQ. I’ve had the privilege of watching her grow into a transformed leader over the years.

Today, she is confident, resilient, and discerning.

She’s hired a great leadership team, pursues big dreams, and has learned how to coach her colleagues.

She even got a beautiful tattoo of the word “Breathe” to remind her of a big takeaway from the Schools of Excellence community. When she takes a deep breath and sits in the silence and discomfort, she hears her inner voice.

In this week's podcast episode, I sit down for a conversation with Cayla about her leadership journey.

Join us to learn more about:

• Quick wins Cayla achieved when she first joined the community
• How she turned her impostor syndrome into a deep sense of belonging
• The impact of personalized coaching on her school’s growth and her personal growth as a leader
• Steps she has taken to reject hustle culture in favor of resilience and wisdom

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

If you want to overcome self-doubt, impostor syndrome, and hustle culture within a supportive environment, apply for the Schools of Excellence Director’s Inner Circle or Owner’s HQ membership program. Inside, you’ll receive tools, coaching, and a like-minded community of school leaders to help build a school of excellence.

If Cayla’s story sounds like your autobiography, I invite you to work with me through a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, highly personalized, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your center thrive. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Have you seen Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and 40 Under 40 lists?

They feature the brightest, shiniest, hardest-working entrepreneurs. These individuals embody hustle, grind, and achievement.

It would be exciting to get on one of those lists, right?

Let’s step back for a moment.

When you’re 40 years old, or even 50, 60, 70, or 80, your school will still be there. You have your whole life to be an owner or director. As I like to say, “I’m playing the decades game.”

So who says you have to hit a certain level of success before a particular age?

Running your school may not be a finite opportunity, but being present for your current season of life is.

If you’re raising young kids, caring for an aging parent, planning a wedding, or anything else that’s important to you, you will only be in this season of life for so long.

Once the door on your current season of life closes, it will never open again.

Treasure the season of life you’re in.

Meanwhile, the school will still be there. It’s a constant in your life.

Now, don’t misunderstand me; I’m not saying you shouldn’t have big ambitions.

In fact, this is an extremely common misconception among school leaders.

They think that schools with a slower pace will achieve less. So they eat lunch at their desks, burn the midnight oil, and run themselves to exhaustion in order to meet their goals.

What they don’t realize is that rest, calm, and peace give you the breathing room you need to take stock, make intentional decisions, and take more meaningful actions.

Simply put, you can accomplish more, at a more sustainable pace, when you do less.

Last week on the Schools of Excellence Podcast, I talked about what causes a culture of urgency in schools.

In this week’s episode, I’m discussing how you can create calm and banish the urgency once and for all.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Why calmness is the key to meaningful progress
• Vital characteristics leaders need to adopt a culture of calm
• Techniques you can implement in your school to cultivate well-being
• Mindset shifts you can begin to embody today that will make a difference
• How a culture of calm opens you up to incredible opportunities

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

Creating the calm in your school won’t happen overnight. If you could use support, book a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your center thrive during your transformation. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

If you’re looking for ongoing, personalized support as you shift your school’s culture, apply for the Schools of Excellence Director’s Inner Circle or Owner’s HQ membership program. Inside, you’ll receive tools, coaching, resources, and access to a thriving community that will help you work towards building a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

Leaders have lots of amazing ideas.

And sometimes, those ideas can turn into multiple priorities. This is absolutely normal.

But when there’s a new idea, a new priority, every month, week, or day, it’s exhausting and confusing for the whole school.

As the focus shifts constantly from one urgent matter to the next, everything becomes a priority. In a culture like this, the team learns that when everything is a priority, nothing is actually a priority.

They may delay starting a project or put in low effort in the beginning, because they know the leader is apt to chang their mind.

Not only can this result in low morale and frustration on the part of both leadership and the team, it poaches employees’ buy-in, ownership, and innovation.

Short-term focus and inconsistent prioritization are two symptoms of a culture of urgency in a school.

Operating within a culture of urgency is such a difficult and stifling experience, so I’m dedicating the next two Schools of Excellence Podcast episodes to the topic.

This week, I’m discussing how you can recognize the patterns of a culture of urgency within your own school.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Three key symptoms to help you diagnose a culture of urgency
• Ten ways a culture of urgency negatively impacts a school and its leaders, staff, and families
• One critical skill for leaders to learn that can help create a sense of deliberateness and calm
• A valuable tool for understanding the core tension within your center

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

P.S. When you’re facing dozens of competing priorities, an outside perspective can help you focus on the next best steps to move you closer to your goals. Let’s work together in a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your center thrive during this busy time. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

If your school is experiencing high turnover, burnout, and stress, you may have a culture of urgency. The Schools of Excellence Director’s Inner Circle or Owner’s HQ membership program provides proven, ongoing support as you get to the root of the problem. Inside, you’ll receive tools, coaching, resources, and access to a thriving community that will help you work towards building a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

Summer is coming, faster than we could have anticipated.

Have you figured out what you and your family are doing for the break?

“What are your summer plans?” It sounds like a simple question—one you’ll probably get asked a bunch over the coming weeks—but the reality is anything but easy.

If you’re feeling panic or irritation at having to make yet another decision about summer break (or even what's for dinner), that’s because there is a whole world of invisible labor that goes into every single choice.

My friend, you are experiencing some very real decision fatigue.

In this week's podcast episode, I’m discussing the mountains of invisible labor that go into decision-making, so you can better protect your energy for the decisions that really matter.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Five steps of decision-making you may not realize you’re already experiencing
• Three types of invisible, draining labor that go into making choices
• Why decision fatigue, emotional factors, and information overload compound the difficulty of choices
• Concrete ways you can reduce your mental load and make decisions more judiciously

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ:https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

A common frustration I see in school leaders is overwhelm when they are making multiple large decisions at once. For instance, they might be onboarding a lot of new parents while also changing software or switching curriculum. If this sounds like you, let’s talk during a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your center thrive during this busy time. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

If you’re feeling completely overwhelmed by decisions and wish you could have regular heart-to-hearts with like-minded school leaders about the challenges inherent in your work, apply for the Schools of Excellence Director’s Inner Circle or Owner’s HQ membership program. Inside, you’ll receive tools, coaching, resources, and access to a thriving community that will help you work towards building a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

When my business was new, I was in the practice of waking up at 5:00am to work on some big, exciting projects. I would reply to emails and write content while my house was asleep, so I could get some focused work time in.

But when I had my fourth child, Yossi, I suddenly could no longer set an alarm for 5:00am and expect to be productive—because I was also waking up at 12:00am, at 2:00am, at 4:00am, and at 6:00am to care for my baby.

I often talk about respecting the season of life you’re in, and pre-Yossi and post-Yossi’s birth were two different seasons of my life. It was important for me to adjust my expectations and priorities accordingly, without getting stuck in guilt, shame, or regret.

In this episode of The Schools of Excellence podcast, I am doing something a little different. Instead of sharing my stories and thoughts, I’m giving you space for reflection and questions about your own life.

I ask questions like:

• If you are in a season of grief and loss, who is in your support system?
• If you are a school leader who is also raising young kids, how are you defining and evaluating the quality of time versus the quantity of time you spend with each of your children?
• For leaders navigating a health challenge, do your career goals align with your health challenges, and does it make sense to realign them?
• When leaders are caretaking loved ones, such as aging parents, are there time-wasting activities that could be minimized to make time for essential responsibilities?

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

“We were only closed for two weeks when the pandemic started, but I swear it felt like we were closed for four months.”

This is what Paige Kepner, Glen Allen, VA center owner, told me during a recent conversation.

I find this is such a common experience for school leaders when they're in the midst of a crisis.

The sheer amount of pressure, communication, decision-making, and information-gathering that happened in March, 2020 (and beyond), was overwhelming for school leaders. Not to mention the amount of energy they had to give to protecting their own families.

Paige had a five-year-old, a seven-month-old, and an empty center. She lost 60-70% of their enrollment in just a few days.

It was so stressful, she was literally having nightmares about drowning.

That’s when we met. She joined the Schools of Excellence Owner’s HQ in 2020 for coaching support, and we started with bite-sized actions to help rebuild her center and her confidence.

One of the lessons that really stuck with her was the analogy of the lobster, which gets uncomfortable as it grows into its shell. The bigger it becomes, the more miserable it is, until finally the old shell molts and it emerges with a fresh, new shell.

In the same way, we have to sit with discomfort as we are stretched by the unique challenges that come with school leadership. But if we can persevere, we can come out on the other end transformed.

In this week's podcast episode, hear directly from Paige about her experience of going from drowning to soaring.

Join us for a conversation about:

• Why Paige chose to invest in her team during a surprising time

• Her system for storing valuable information for future challenges

• How she has shifted her mindset around school culture and become a stronger leader

• The value of like-minded community for Paige

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

A director I was coaching a few weeks ago told me about a repeat problem that kept coming up in her center. She was constantly being interrupted by teachers coming to her office asking for help with little things. She was glad to support them, but it was getting to a point where she couldn’t focus on her own tasks.

Her own behavior—going out of her office to give them what they asked for, every single time—was enabling their behavior and dependency, instead of empowering them to be resourceful.

We want to be encouraging leaders with all the answers, but there’s a paradox here. We have to balance this urge to provide on-demand support with the necessity of giving our teams the environment to develop autonomy, independence, and individual growth.

This week, join me for a conversation about:

• Why support is related to people pleasing and anxiety
• How the paradox of support shows up in education, such as the push-and-pull between dependency and empowerment
• Three practical ways you can balance support with autonomy
• Journaling questions to investigate how you can navigate the paradox of support​

Want a written summary of this episode?

Grab it here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/paradox

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

When certain aspects of our center spiral out of our control, we can either attempt to wrestle control back, or we can cultivate long-term stability and resilience. As you sit with the discomfort of the paradox of control, I would be honored to support you. During a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive, you’ll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training and coaching with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through the paradoxes of leadership. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

If you’re looking for the ongoing guidance, camaraderie, and support of a community of like-minded leaders as you grow as a leader, apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you build a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

Recently, I was speaking with a school owner who was selling a location. She had truly done her due diligence in her preparations for this moment, crossing every T and dotting every I. The only thing left to do was to inform her team.

Feeling anxiety about the conversation, she came to me for coaching and guidance. Many coaches might give general advice about drinking water, going on a walk, or meditating. But she wasn’t coming to me for help shaking off her nerves. She was looking for something deeper.

So I asked her, “Do you believe that, because you checked every box, you can control the narrative, and your team should handle the news gracefully?”

Yes, that was exactly what she was feeling.

Then I told her she must accept the discomfort of the fact that she could not, in reality, control her team’s response to the news.

This is the paradox of control. We want control, but what we actually need is trust.

Join me on the podcast for a conversation about:

• How the paradox of control manifests inside ECE centers, including your own
• Drawing a distinction between control and influence, and why it matters for leaders
• How to cultivate resilience and humanity by confronting the paradox of control
• Questions for deep reflection to help you become a stronger, wiser leader​

Want a written summary of this episode?

Grab it here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/paradox

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

When certain aspects of our center spiral out of our control, we can either attempt to wrestle control back, or we can cultivate long-term stability and resilience. As you sit with the discomfort of the paradox of control, I would be honored to support you. During a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive, you’ll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training and coaching with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through the paradoxes of leadership. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

If you’re looking for the ongoing guidance, camaraderie, and support of a community of like-minded leaders as you grow as a leader, apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you build a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

Recently, I was on a coaching call with two ECE center owners.

The first owner had just purchased her second location. This was a huge milestone for her, and she expected to feel accomplished. And yet, she was struggling to step into a double identity as both an owner and the director of the second site, until it could get fully staffed.

The second owner had just sold her second location. She reflected back on when she had first purchased it, and at the time, she wondered if she was enough. Now that she sold it, she wondered the same thing.

Success is a paradox. There’s tension between achieving your aims and recognizing the path is not straightforward. Every time a school leader achieves certain goals—higher enrollment, new locations, greater profitability, more brand equity—these milestones come with their own challenges.

Join me for the third episode in my podcast series about the paradoxes of school leadership, where we explore:

• How success leads to impostor syndrome and new hurdles
• Why leaders paradoxically protect themselves from success
• Tangible ways success creates unique challenges for centers
• How to redefine your definition of success as you progress in your leadership
• Actionable steps you can take to prepare for the pros and cons of success

Want a written summary of this episode?

Grab it here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/paradox

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

When certain aspects of our center spiral out of our control, we can either attempt to wrestle control back, or we can cultivate long-term stability and resilience. As you sit with the discomfort of the paradox of control, I would be honored to support you. During a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive, you’ll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training and coaching with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through the paradoxes of leadership. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

P.P.S. If you’re looking for the ongoing guidance, camaraderie, and support of a community of like-minded leaders as you grow as a leader, apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you build a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

When’s the last time you went to a huge buffet? While it seems like a treat to eat anything you want, you can’t eat it all—and that means you have to choose. The number of decisions you have to make in the buffet line is totally overwhelming.

In the same way, too many choices can feel paralyzing when it comes to our centers—for leadership, teachers, parents, and children.

Will the kids play with blocks or go outside? Which parent-teacher communication system will we use? Which professional development option should we pick? Which curriculum will we choose? Which payroll system is best?

Stop. Breathe.

The truth is, there is no right answer. There is no perfect choice. This is the paradox of choice that confronts us as school leaders.

This week, I invite you to explore the paradox of choice on the podcast, as we discuss:

• How to frame choices in terms of your values
• Which frameworks can guide your decision-making processes
• The inevitable grief and regret that can follow making a choice
• Low-stakes ways to build resilience for high-stakes decisions​

Want a written summary of this episode?

Grab it here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/paradox

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

I can give you frameworks galore, but that can’t beat the individualized, laser-focused coaching support I offer during a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive. During the Intensive, you’ll receive a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team make choices, while building a healthier, stronger center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

For owners and directors who are looking for ongoing support in navigating the many choices that come along with school leadership, I invite you to apply to the Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll receive access to tools, resources, coaching, and community to support your efforts to build a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

In 2022, Catherine Doberstein had just started listening to my podcast. In an episode, I mentioned the live, in-person Summit of Excellence that was coming up, and she decided to attend.

She told me, “I had been looking for a community of young business owners to be surrounded by, but I didn’t realize there was a whole group of early childcare leaders who wanted a higher level of education for children. I knew this is where I needed to be.”

Joining the Schools of Excellence Owner’s HQ membership program created some significant changes in Catherine’s school, the Little Scholars Academy of Kannapolis, NC. In this conversation, Catherine and I discuss:

• How she shifted from doing everything in her school (owner, director, and teacher) to becoming a confident leader
• Catherine’s journey from grinding for five days a week at her school, to only working two days per week, giving her more time with her family
• Strategies Catherine put in place to create accountability within her team
• How she identified and communicated company values, which now inform all of her business decisions
• How she navigates challenges differently now than she did two years ago​

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

Some challenges are easier to overcome with an outside perspective and focused, collaborative time. When you work with Schools of Excellence during a Leadership Day Intensive, you’ll receive a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through growing pains, and build a stronger, healthier center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

If you, like Catherine, are seeking a community of like-minded childcare leaders, apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and—best of all—community that will help you build a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

Back in 2017, I had the immense pleasure of interviewing author and speaker Simon Sinek about how to be an effective leader. It's a topic that many people talk about but few can agree on.

During the interview, I asked Simon to define what it means to be a leader. Rather than give me a simple statement, he chose to tell a story that I'll never forget.

During his stay at the Four Seasons hotel in Las Vegas, Simon met a charming and enthusiastic barista named Noah. Noah's energy was so infectious that Simon felt compelled to ask him whether he liked his job.

Noah's response was, "No—I love my job."

He went on to explain that at the Four Seasons, his supervisors didn't make an appearance just to tell him what to do or to try to catch him making mistakes—like his other job at another well-known Las Vegas hotel (and reminiscent of many people's experience at work).

Instead, his managers checked in with him frequently to ask how he was doing and what they could do to make his job easier. This not only made Noah enjoy his work more, but it also gave him the support he needed to do his job better.

Powerful stuff, right?

Simon's point in telling this story was to demonstrate what true leadership looks like, which is to take care of people.

Because when you look out for the needs of your team, you don't need to micromanage, discipline, or fix problems. Your compassion and guidance alone give them the tools they need to be successful.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm re-sharing my interview with Simon Sinek because it's a powerful conversation about leadership that I want to make sure you all hear.

Join us for a conversation about:

• How to create an environment like Noah's at the Four Seasons
• What it means to be a leader
• Which questions to ask yourself to uncover your why
• How you can be a student of leadership
• And so much more!​

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

P.S. This episode dives into the true essence of leadership and touches on so many core concepts that we talk about with our members. If you like what you hear and want more opportunities to receive guidance and support that can transform your leadership, I encourage you to apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

P.P.S. Inspired by what you've heard in this episode and want to help take your team's leadership to the next level? Inquire about a Leadership Day Intensive for your center. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins to help you and your team work through existing obstacles and build a stronger, healthier center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

Communication is about more than just your words.

Years ago, when I was still working as a teacher, I was preparing for parent–teacher conferences with my mentor, Dana Levy. She was guiding me through a role-play exercise to help me feel more confident in my communication with parents.

When I got to the part of the interaction where I was supposed to express some concerns about the child, Dana stopped me and asked me to step in front of the mirror before starting again.

As I spoke in front of the mirror, I immediately noticed what Dana had observed: As soon as I reached the difficult part of the conversation, my entire body tensed up.

It was like I became an open book, unintentionally revealing my negative emotions through my facial expressions and body language—something that would be sure to make the parents anxious.

And chances are, this happens to some teachers at your center too.

Preparing for parent–teacher conferences is about more than tips or templates—although these resources can be helpful.

It requires practice and a holistic understanding of the parents' perspective so you can communicate both effectively and empathetically.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm sharing a recording of a training session I conducted for leaders within our Director's Inner Circle membership program about how to prepare for parent–teacher conferences.

Join me for a conversation about:

• How to conduct yourself during a parent-teacher conference
• What the parent perspective looks like
• Language to avoid when talking about a child
• How to structure the conference from beginning to end

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/membership/

This episode is a recording from a previous training session with our members. If you like what you hear and want more opportunities to receive guidance and support that can transform your leadership, I encourage you to apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

Managing parent-teacher relationships is a common challenge for leaders. If this is something your team struggles with, I encourage you to inquire about a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins to help you and your team work through existing obstacles and build a stronger, healthier center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

When my husband Mayer and I moved to Florida, we had a pool for the first time ever. But as New Yorkers, we had no idea how to take care of it. So when we were told we didn't have to do much to maintain it, we took those words at face value.

Over time, different parts of the pool started to break down, and we had no choice but to call a maintenance company to evaluate the situation.

When they finally came to take a look, we were shocked at what they told us: We had to drain and reline the entire pool.

A costly mistake.

The thing is, it didn't have to be that way. Had we kept up with the proper maintenance all along, we wouldn't have had to pay for such a costly repair.

We only had ourselves to blame.

Sound familiar?

Maintenance neglect is a common and costly problem for early childcare centers—something you really cannot afford in today's economic climate.

It's crucial you find ways to address money leaks and close investment gaps so your center can thrive regardless of the state of the economy.

This week's podcast episode is the final of a four-part series that breaks down the 2024 forecast for early childhood education. To close out our discussion, I'm talking about how you can navigate finances as you move into 2024 and beyond.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Why owners are finding themselves in a financial crisis
• The two major areas you need to address to increase your profit margins
• How to avoid scarcity-based decision-making
• How to make charitable giving a core part of your financial strategy​​

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If you enjoy this episode and are looking for a space to continue exploring the next era of school leadership, consider applying for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

Or, help your leadership team prepare for today's modern challenges with a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through obstacles and build a stronger, healthier center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

When I was a new parent, I thought I could give my kids more by simply loving them more.

Spoiler alert: I was mistaken.

Don't get me wrong—my heart was in the right place. Like so many before me, I wanted to give my kids a life even better than the one I had experienced.

But with time and maturity, I came to realize you can't give what you don't have.

You can't pour into your kids if you don't first pour into yourself.

The same can be said for your teachers at school.

Since the pandemic, children have experienced significant delays in cognitive and behavioral development, and our collective solution has been to seek strategies and resources to address these growing concerns.

But let me ask you this: How can teachers create the sort of safe and supportive environment that children need to grow and thrive if they can't create that for themselves?

You can't give what you don't have, remember?

Before we can look for solutions, we need to shift the focus to helping teachers regulate their own emotions so that they're better equipped to give children what they need.

This week's podcast episode is the third in a four-part series that breaks down the 2024 forecast for early childhood education. It centers on how to cultivate healthy teacher–child relationships so your students and school can thrive.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Why child relationships are such an important topic in 2024
• What experts have to say about child development in today's world
• The skills teachers need to cultivate healthy relationships with their students
• Practical strategies for how to make self-regulation a focal point this year​​

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If you enjoy this episode and are looking for a space to continue exploring the next era of school leadership, consider applying for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

Or, help your leadership team prepare for today's modern challenges with a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through obstacles and build a stronger, healthier center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

Has someone ever told you to calm down?

It's one of the most aggravating statements ever.

Recently, I was having a conversation with my husband, Mayer, and things were getting a little heated. Before things got out of hand, I wanted to regulate myself so I could operate from a more level mindset.

Instead of giving me the space to work through my emotions, Mayer decided it would be helpful in that moment to say "Calm down. It's not a big deal."

When in the history of the world has it ever been helpful to tell someone to calm down?

So I responded snarkily, "Okay, get taller. Just grow 5 more inches. It's not a big deal."

Predictably, Mayer was confused. Of course, he couldn't do what I was asking.

But here's the thing—neither could I!

In the same way that Mayer couldn't grow 5 inches in a matter of seconds, I couldn't regulate myself at that very moment.

Emotional regulation is a process that takes time.

Why am I telling you this?

Because the next time you see your staff on the receiving end of an upset parent's rampage, I want you to think twice before you tell them not to take it personally.

The parenting landscape has changed drastically over the last several years, and your teachers deserve more than being told to calm down when dealing with the modern challenges of parent partnerships.

They need you to step up and create an environment where they feel supported and empowered to foster meaningful relationships with parents in this new climate.

This week's podcast episode is the second in a four-part series that breaks down the 2024 forecast for early childhood education. It centers on the shifting landscape of parent partnerships and what to consider as we move into the new year.

Join me for a conversation about:

• How parent partnerships have evolved, especially since the pandemic
• The impact of modern relationships on mental health
• How the shifting landscape is impacting teachers and turnover
• The key areas you should focus on as a leader in 2024

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If you enjoy this episode and are looking for a space to continue exploring the next era of school leadership, consider applying for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

Or, help your leadership team prepare for today's modern challenges with a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through obstacles and build a stronger, healthier center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

Are you living by your values?

While you think that question over, let me tell you a story.

In our family, generosity is a core value, and one of the ways in which we embody that value is by hosting members of the community in our home.

So when the High Holiday was approaching this past year, our initial intention was to host two or three out of the four meals that take place over the holiday, just as we normally would.

But when I realized that the Schools of Excellence Legacy Mastermind happened to fall on the same weekend as the start of the High Holiday, I had to take a step back and re-evaluate.

Sure, I could stick to the original plan and spend the weekend hosting meals—that would be in alignment with my values, right?

But values don't exist in a vacuum.

If I were to neglect my commitments as a business owner in order to uphold my family's value of generosity, I wouldn't really be living by my values, would I?

So instead, Mayer and I chose to host just one meal so I could balance my role as both a business owner and member of our community. It wasn't an easy decision, but it was the right one.

When it comes to true leadership—especially in this day and age—solutions aren't black and white.

Instead, leadership requires that you make hard choices and reserve enough energy to embody all of your values.

Now we come back to you.

Are you living by your values? Are you prepared to be a leader in today's world?

In this week's podcast episode, I'll help you answer this question by exploring what it takes to be a leader in 2024 and beyond. It's the first in a four-part series that breaks down the 2024 forecast for early childhood education.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The four critical areas shaping the next era of early childhood education
• Why traditional leadership strategies are no longer working
• What it means to be a leader in today's world
• How we should approach modern leadership

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If you enjoy this episode and are looking for a space to continue exploring the next era of school leadership, consider applying for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

Or, help your leadership team prepare for today's modern challenges with a Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through obstacles and build a stronger, healthier center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

School leadership can be a lonely journey.

When you're at the top of the org chart, it's your responsibility to support your team—meaning there's no one to catch you when it's you who has fallen down.

That's the harsh reality that Mandy Moore came face-to-face with when she became the owner of her center, Steadfast Academy in Texas, a few years ago.

Transitioning from director to owner was a difficult change. She had gone from having at least some semblance of support to suddenly having none at all.

When COVID-19 hit just a few months later, Mandy's already unstable life was turned completely upside down, with no one to turn to in her time of need.

It was at that point that Mandy came to a critical realization: If she was going to have any chance of surviving—let alone thriving—as an owner, she would need to find a support system.

Fortunately, she found exactly what she was looking for in the Schools of Excellence Owner's HQ membership program, and it changed the trajectory of her leadership journey.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm sitting down with owner Mandy Moore to talk about her experience in Owner's HQ and how finding community among other leaders helped her settle into her new role.

Join us for a conversation about:

• The state of Mandy's center before joining Owner's HQ
• Her experience as an owner after COVID-19 hit
• What she learned being part of a community of other owners
• How her leadership transformation has impacted her personal life​

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Your leadership team can also struggle to find support and community, which can greatly impact their ability to lead from the center's values. You can help them work through this and other challenges with a Schools of Excellence Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team work through obstacles and build a stronger, healthier center.

If Mandy’s story resonates with you and you, too, crave the guidance and support of a community of like-minded leaders, I encourage you to apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

Last year, after speaking at a conference, I was contacted by, Sophie Kerr, the owner of Little Foxes Nursery School in Wiltshire, England, an early childcare center that believes in the power of strong role models in children's learning and development.

She had heard me speak about B.R.I.D.G.E., the 6 key meta skills you need as a childcare center leader, and it immediately resonated with her.

Although she had a strong team of directors, they were struggling in some crucial areas, like managing their calendars and having difficult conversations with staff, that were impacting the overall culture of the school.

So, when she reached out to inquire more about leadership training for her team—Catherine, Amy, and Jen—I invited them to apply for our Director's Inner Circle membership program.

I knew it was the perfect place for them to not only develop their leadership meta-skills, but get support from other directors who were experiencing the same struggles and working toward the same goals.

But what I didn't expect was just how incredible it would be to watch each of their journeys unfold, side by side.

The extent to which the program transformed their leadership in such distinctive and personal ways was powerful to see.

That's why in this week's podcast episode, I'm sitting down with the Little Foxes team to hear their stories about how being in the Director's Inner Circle membership program has uniquely transformed their leadership and school cultures.

Join us for a conversation about:

• Their leadership styles before joining the program
• Their experience implementing the gratitude matrix, one-on-ones, and more
• The impact of their leadership on parents and families
• How they've grown thanks to the program's resources, coaching, and community

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If you want to experience a leadership transformation like that of the Little Foxes team, I encourage you to apply for our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

P.P.S. Or, if you're looking for a more team-centered experience to elevate your circle of leaders, you could be a good fit for our Leadership Day Intensive. You'll get a full day of on-demand, in-school training with me, plus various accountability check-ins, to help you and your team transform your center's leadership and build a stronger, healthier culture. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/leadership

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

When you write out a to-do list—whether for your team, your family, or yourself—does it give an accurate representation of everything that goes into completing each task?

Take laundry, for example. When I put "do the laundry" on my to-do list, I would be kidding myself if I thought it was a one-step process.

There's sorting, washing, drying, ironing, folding, putting the clothes away… and even that isn't an exhaustive list depending on the circumstances. Rather than an easy box to check, something like laundry can easily take an entire morning—or day.

It's a perfect example of invisible labor—all the tasks that need to get done that nobody sees…

…at least, nobody but you.

As a school leader, invisible labor is your middle name. Your brain is wired to consider the details, and you can't help but get bogged down in all the particulars of whatever task is at hand.

So, when your team reports to you, thinking the best thing to do is to relay ALL the information possible, you get overwhelmed by things you don't need to worry about.

You feel responsible for things you don't need to be responsible for.

And the result is that you waste precious time and energy on things that won't help your center move forward.

To ensure you're operating at optimal levels and focusing on the things that matter most, it's critical for you to educate your team on how to report to you.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm talking about how to train your team to report effectively so you can keep your mind—and your schedule—clear for tasks that bring you closer to your goals.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Why it's important to educate your team on proper reporting
• Financial debt vs. time debt
• How to discern what's truly important to know
• Action steps to educate your team

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

When my husband Mayer and I still lived in NYC, he held a position at a college that was highly demanding (to put it lightly).

As part of his role, he was required to work 7 days a week, with very limited PTO. And when he did have time off, he fell ill—just like clockwork.

That wasn't a coincidence.

When we work ourselves to the bone without allowing ourselves proper time to rest and recover, we become more vulnerable to illness.

Think of your well-being like a battery—if you don't plug it in to charge, eventually it's going to run out of power.

As a school leader, I'm sure you know this better than anyone. After all, professionals in the field of education are especially prone to burnout.

But what you may not realize is that recharging your battery is about more than taking a yearly vacation.

Because if you only give yourself time away once or twice a year, that break ends up being spent in a desperate attempt to recover from burnout…

…rather than experiencing genuine moments of aliveness and connection with the people you love.

To move beyond survival mode and make the most of your time off for fun and travel, you need to plan for regular rest and recovery throughout the year.

That way, you won't be running on a near-empty tank while trying to enjoy all life has to offer.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm discussing how to plan strategically for rest and travel as a school leader.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Why it's crucial to strategically plan for rest and travel
• The different kinds of rest you need to feel fully recharged
• How I manage my own recovery and travel throughout the year
• How you can plan for rest and travel in 2024

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

No matter the industry, leaders are often afraid to be honest about why they're firing someone. They think that by sugar-coating the truth or dancing around the issue, they're protecting the person's feelings.

But the reality is that being dishonest doesn't help anyone but you. Rather than protect them, you actually protect yourself from uncomfortable feelings.

In reality, the best thing you can do for everyone involved is to communicate with transparency and kindness—no matter the context.

Back in 2011, when I was working as a camp director in NYC, I had to fire a teacher after a very unfortunate incident.

It was a sensitive time for the Jewish community in that area because a child had been tragically abducted while walking home from day camp. Understandably, everyone in the city was on especially high alert.

So, when a teacher at my camp left a child alone in the bathroom and walked to a park two blocks away, I had no choice but to terminate her immediately.

I found the child in the bathroom while doing my rounds, walked them to the park where the teacher was, and fired her on the spot.

Now, in this particular situation, there wasn't much of a conversation, because I needed to act swiftly. But that didn't mean that I was unkind—or that I avoided addressing the reason she was being fired.

I simply told her that her error in judgment was unacceptable—and let her go.

As a leader, you're going to have to fire team members. In fact, never letting go of employees is a sign that you're not cultivating a values-led culture. Because there will always be individuals on your team who simply aren't the right fit.

But at the end of the day, the reason you're letting them go doesn't matter. In every case, you owe it to them, to your team, and to yourself to navigate the conversation with poise and respect.

In this week's podcast episode, the final installment of a three-part series on firing, I provide tips on how to navigate termination communication in a way that preserves your center's reputation and maintains the trust of remaining team members.

Join me for a conversation about:

• What a termination conversation is really about
• Why handling a termination conversation well is so important
• How to prepare for and conduct the conversation
• How to navigate the aftermath of firing a team member

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

Many years ago (when my kids were a lot smaller), my husband Mayer and I took a trip to Niagara Falls. As usual, I had organized everything in advance, including reserving adjoining rooms for our family.

Because our kids were so young at the time, it was really important that we had that adjoining room. So, I made sure to call the hotel—both the day before and the day of the trip—to confirm that the rooms were available for us as planned.

But lo and behold, on the night we arrived at the hotel, the staff member on duty told us that there were no adjoining rooms left because we had arrived too late at night.

Mayer and I were livid. I had called to reserve in advance specifically because I knew we would be arriving late and wanted to make sure we got the rooms we needed.

Yet here we were, standing at the check-in desk, luggage in hand, being told that it was our fault we didn't get adjoining rooms.

Why? Because the hotel staff refused to take responsibility for their mistake.

Does any of this sound familiar?

Throughout your career, I'm sure you've seen plenty of instances where team members didn't take accountability, shifted the blame, or reacted poorly to feedback.

And sure, even the best of us have some missteps along the way.

But when a team member's failure to take personal responsibility becomes a pattern of behavior, it's a signal that it's probably time to say goodbye.

In this week's podcast episode, the second in my three-part series on firing, I dig deeper into personal responsibility and the other key reasons for deciding to let go of a team member.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The core evidence that should determine whether you fire someone
• Why documentation is essential throughout the decision-making process
• How to evaluate performance, coachability, mindset, and more
• How personality fit should factor into your decision

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

No one enjoys having to fire an employee.

In most cases it's uncomfortable and unpleasant to have to let someone go, especially if they didn't do anything "wrong."

But hanging on to a team member who's not the right fit for your center's vision and values can have some serious consequences… maybe more than you realize.

In the case of Janine, a Schools of Excellence Owner's HQ member, her reluctance to fire a toxic team member impacted her health and wellbeing.

Janine was an owner who had what I like to call a "toxic genius" on her team.

This team member was smart, reliable, great with kids and parents—everything you could want in an employee—but she also had a habit of stirring up gossip and putting others down.

Janine was torn about what to do. On the one hand, she knew the team member was negatively impacting her center.

But on the other, she had just opened up a fourth location and barely had the capacity to deal with her usual responsibilities—let alone go through the process of firing someone.

But instead of delegating the responsibility to her team member, a director, Janine insisted that she had to be the one to do it.

So, month after month passed by, and Janine continued to sit with the same dilemma. It wasn't just her mind, though, that suffered from her inaction. She developed high blood pressure and couldn't sleep more than 3 hours a night.

After an entire year of worsening health problems, I finally asked Janine: "When is enough, enough? When will you realize what you're losing by not letting this person go?"

If reading this reminds you of someone on your team, I want to ask you the same question:

When is enough, enough? How long will you wait in the name of avoiding discomfort before you take action for the sake of yourself and your team?

So, what happened with Janine when she finally faced the truth?

She took accountability, let go of the toxic genius, and for the first time in a long time, she slept straight through the night.

In this week's podcast episode, the first in a three-part series on firing, I explore the true cost of hanging on to team members when it's time to let go.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The top 3 reasons we fire employees (HINT: It's not just about performance)
• The impact of keeping someone who needs to leave
• Why we have to prioritize ourselves and our team's wellbeing
• Action steps to take if you're struggling with letting someone go

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

Every year, flu season seems to come as a surprise.

We know it’s coming. And yet, it always seems to catch us unaware, putting us into all kinds of highly stressful situations.

Like having to find a sub for your subs' sub.

Seriously. I was dropping off one of my kids at school one day, and I didn't recognize one of the teachers. When I asked her who she was, she said "Oh, I'm subbing for Rachel."

Who's Rachel?

Well, as it turns out, Rachel was subbing for Britney… who was subbing for Sheera, who was subbing for Maria—the original teacher.

When I say I've seen it all, I mean I've seen it all.

While this particular comically chaotic situation may have never happened to you, I know that as a center leader, flu season has left you scrambling to cope with crises like staff shortages, schedule interruptions, and many other impacts that hit the school.

And it happens every. Single. Year.

So how do you prevent flu season from throwing an annual wrench into all your plans?

A strong, center-oriented insurance policy may give you the tools you need. Simliar to a flood insurance policy you go out and buy, this is something you hope to never use, but that’s there to protect you if needed.

This kind of proactive insurance policy allows you to prepare for understaffing without overburdening your staff. It gives you an efficient, flexible way of managing absences while also improving your staff’s overall wellbeing.

This week's podcast episode is one I’ve wanted to record for years. In it, we’re discussing proactive approaches to the dreaded flu season.

Join me for a conversation about:

• How to appropriately prepare for flu season
• What an insurance policy for flu season looks like
• The impact this season has on schools
• How to communicate preparations and alleviate concerns

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

It’s easy to feel pulled down by the difficult happenings at your center.

This was the case for Ashriel Huber, second-generation legacy owner of A Child’s Touch in Colorado.

Her desire to make the previous owner proud, coupled with the stress of taking over a large center with many moving parts, led to dysregulation, impostor syndrome, and a sense that she could never give enough to move the needle.

When I met Ashriel at a conference, she felt stuck. She confided that she’d lost key members of administration, and lacked the processes and procedures that would calm the chaos.

More troubling, she felt as if she’d given her life to the center, staying late night after night to try and get ahead. She needed to gain the trust of her employees, and working hard seemed the best way to accomplish that.

After listening to her story, I grabbed a napkin and walked her through the Pyramid of Excellence.

In her own words, that conference marked a turning point in how she thought about her role as owner. She joined the Schools of Excellence Owner’s HQ membership program and began working to shift her limiting beliefs.

With the support of other owners, she’s learning to build emotional resilience, allowing her to stay the course when challenges arise. Instead of living at the center, she’s dedicated several mornings to staying home and attending coaching calls.

Most importantly, she found connections with other leaders, which allowed her to form a community of peers. Instead of feeling isolated and alone, she could share her ideas, gain feedback, and take concrete steps forward.

Members of Ashriel’s staff have noticed a shift. They’ve commented on her growing confidence, and the atmosphere at the center is beginning to transition. Now she has the tools to separate caring for the individual from being a leader who expects people to do their jobs.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re struggling with impostor syndrome, or if the stressors of your center sometimes feel too daunting, I encourage you to listen to Ashriel’s story. You'll hear more about her journey and how the membership helped her gain confidence in her role as a leader.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The struggles Ashriel faced before joining the membership
• What she learned by being surrounded by other like-minded owners
• How her center looks now that she's a more confident leader
• What's next for her and her center

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

Does the word “stress” make your chest tighten?

If so, you’re not the only one

We tend to think of stress as a negative thing. But the truth is, it’s an integral part of being human. In fact, on last week’s podcast episode I introduced the concept of eustress—a type of positive stress that helps to motivate us.

This week, I want to talk about the tools we use to manage stress in the moment. Because stress is an unavoidable part of our lives, it’s up to us to keep ourselves regulated and ready to approach each situation.

Mornings are a perfect example. Getting four kids out the door is no small task, and it’s hard on the body. On top of that, my five-year-old is often up before I am.

Distress tolerance has taught me that, despite the chaotic demands of a morning full of decisions and preparations, I need a moment of silence. So I’ve set up a private space for myself in my bedroom where I can spend five minutes alone, with the door closed, before tackling the day.

The temptation to immediately jump into the day is strong, but I know from experience that my children and I are all better served when I take that five minutes.

Personal morning space is one of the self-soothing strategies I have in my distress tolerance toolkit.

In this week's podcast episode, I’m going to guide you through the development of a distress tolerance toolkit for yourself and your staff.

Join me for a conversation about:

• What a staff distress tolerance toolkit includes
• How to accept distress when it happens
• Steps to create an effective toolkit that empowers your team
• Strategies for personalizing your toolkits

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

You’re no stranger to challenges.

Whether it’s helping fifteen children into their winter coats, navigating a difficult relationship with one of your teachers, or balancing a busy schedule, you have a lot on your plate.

It’s stressful. It may even be distressing.

Enter distress tolerance. Building your own, personal level of distress tolerance is one of the most powerful ways you can manage the inevitable challenges of life as a school leader.

Let me give you an example.

Recently, my husband and son went on a road trip together, leaving me to solo parent our other three children. As luck would have it, during their trip I had an immovable dentist appointment on the same day my other children returned from camp early.

Typically, I avoid bringing my kids on errands at all costs. But this time, it was unavoidable. Based on the dentist’s available time slots, I had two options:

1. Pick the earlier time slot and bring them directly to the dentist’s office,
2. or choose a later time and take them home first.

Years of developing distress tolerance led me to pick the later time.

Why?

Because it allowed me the space to fill my cup and those of my children before we did something none of us wanted to do. I was able to bring my kids home, have a snack, and give them some personal mommy time before we headed to the dentist’s office.

Why am I telling you this story?

Because this decision-making process was distress tolerance in action. As mundane as a schedule conflict might seem, it’s one of the most prevalent stressors that threatens to throw us off balance.

And when we’re off balance, our entire team can feel it.

In this week’s podcast episode, I’m going to dig into distress tolerance and resilience in the childcare industry.

Join me for a conversation about:

• What distress tolerance is
• How it helps us navigate difficult situations
• The correlation between stress and performance
• Strategies for building your distress tolerance as a leader

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

Mentioned in this episode:

School Leadership Toolkit

School Leadership Toolkit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/toolkit/

School Leadership Toolkit

View Details

In our society, conversations about grief are largely dominated by death and the experience of losing someone we love.

But death is far from the only time we deal with loss.

Anytime we go through periods of transition in our lives, we experience grief triggered by the loss of how things used to be. For leaders in early childhood education, these transitions happen on an almost daily basis.

Closing locations, letting go of teachers, saying goodbye to families, and even delegating responsibilities are losses that can create a sense of longing for the way things were.

And if you don't take active steps to move through that grief, you can end up stuck in old patterns that prevent you from growing as an individual and as a leader.

That's why in this week's podcast episode, I'm opening up a conversation about how to navigate loss and use it as a springboard for legacy.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Widening our definition of grief
• Common forms of grief that leaders experience
• What can happen if you don't take the time to process your grief
• Steps for how to move through grief in a productive way

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

While processing grief is a personal journey, it's significantly easier when you're surrounded by others who are on a similar journey. Our Director's Inner Circle and Owner's HQ membership programs are the perfect place to build a community of like-minded leaders who can support you through every season of your life. Plus, as a member, you'll also gain access to tools, resources, and coaching that can help you along the way.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Roles and responsibilities are crucial to building a school of excellence. You can't weather the storm—let alone captain your ship—if your crew isn't clear on what they should be doing and when.

That's where developing a school org chart comes in handy. With a visual representation of the structure of your center on hand, you can clear up a lot of questions about what role each individual plays and who they should report to.

But that's not all your org chart should do.

Because the leaders, administrators, and teachers of your center aren't solely defined by where they fit into the hierarchy.

They're human beings with their own needs and abilities, and those elements need to be factored in when designing the structure of your school.

Don't get me wrong—hierarchy is important. But at its core, building an effective org chart is about understanding what fuels collaboration, efficiency, communication, and results.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm exploring how to create your school org chart so that it facilitates the roles, responsibilities, and relationships within your center.

Join me for a conversation about:

• What a school org chart is
• The 6 things leaders get wrong when designing their org charts
• How to chart roles within your school
• Questions to ask yourself when creating your org chart

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Org charts are just one of the many foundational concepts we dive into within our Director's Inner Circle and Owner's HQ membership programs. As part of the membership, you'll gain access to a variety of tools and resources to help you build a school of excellence. Plus, you'll receive coaching and the support of a community that will take your leadership to new heights.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

This episode is from a Strategic Advisory from our Membership programs.

I know that the impending chaos of a new year is incredibly unsettling. You’re preparing for new kids, new teachers, new protocols, and new expectations, and you know everyone will look at you like deer in the headlights.

It's inevitable… and believe it or not, that's a good thing.

Confused? Stay with me.

When you operate under the assumption that the start-of-the-school year mayhem is avoidable, any disorder that occurs becomes a reflection of your competency as a leader.

The chaos becomes your fault, and it produces feelings of anxiety, self-doubt, and even shame.

But when you recognize that chaos is simply an inherent characteristic of transition—not a result of your leadership—you give yourself the opportunity to take a deep breath, adjust your mindset, and create a plan for how to deal with the inevitable disarray of a novel environment.

In other words, the mark of a strong leader isn't the absence of mayhem. It's the presence of a calm and collected state-of-mind that helps you weather the storm.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

When you sit down to draw with a 4-year-old, you know you're not going to get the Mona Lisa. Kids don't have the capacity for things like perspective, texture, or—let's be honest—simply coloring within the lines.

So, if that's the case, then why do you expect perfection out of your most inexperienced teachers and newly hired staff?

In a world that glorifies immediate results, we've gotten used to demanding the very best out of everyone, all the time.

But life doesn't work that way.

People need time to adjust to expectations, learn new skills, and reach a certain standard, and that journey will look different depending on the person.

Effective leaders recognize that everyone has a learning curve, and they provide the support their teams need to experience growth on a timeline that makes sense.

That's what leads to excellence.

On this week's podcast episode, I'm addressing a topic that may be a difficult pill for leaders to swallow, but one of the most important lessons they can learn: The value of tolerating “good enough” for long enough to achieve excellence.

Join me for a conversation about:

• What it means to tolerate "good enough"
• The difference between expectations and standards
• The impact of setting realistic expectations
• Questions to ask yourself to identify what's good enough

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

. You can work on more of the skills that make effective leaders by joining our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain ongoing access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that can help you build and sustain a school of excellence.

Or, if you're looking for easy-to-implement resources you can use to facilitate the growth of your team, check out our Time Management & Accountability bundle. It contains a series of tools and templates that will help you create more accountability among your staff and free up time to focus on the growth and development of your center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/time

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

What does ambition look like to you?

Does it mean owning the best school in your city? Expanding your center? Retiring early?

Maybe it's none of those things… and that's okay.

Contrary to what we're made to believe, there's more than one charted path to success. Your destination can be whatever you want it to be—and the journey to get there can look however you want it to.

What's more, how you define ambition may change over time.

While you can achieve extraordinary greatness in multiple domains of your life, you won't be able to do it all at once. It's going to work in seasons, and it's up to you to decide what's worth pursuing at any given time.

How do you make that decision?

That's what I'm discussing on this week's podcast episode. Together, we'll explore what ambition is to you and how you can achieve greatness in all areas of your life.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The definition of ambition and what it looks like to different people
• Why we get stuck on one view of success
• How different seasons influence your priorities and possibilities
• How to decide which goals to pursue

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

. Ambition is a major topic of conversation within our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs, as it takes passion and drive to do the inner and outer work necessary to build a school of excellence. You can join the conversation, as well as gain ongoing access to tools, resources, coaching, and community, by applying today.

Focusing on big-picture goals is also a lot easier when you have the time to do it! With our Time Management & Accountability bundle, you'll get a series of tools and templates to help you become more productive and hold your team accountable. With the extra time, you can spend more time working on the growth and development of your center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/time

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

What if I told you that you didn't have to be at your center 40+ hours a week?

Would you believe me?

The reality for a lot of owners is that the line between home and school is so blurred it's almost nonexistent. They spend so much of their time wrapped up in the day-to-day operation of their centers that they end up spending more time there than they do at home with their families.

This was the case for Ashley Corthell, owner of Daybreak Academy in Utah. When I first connected with her, she was spending 45+ hours per week at her school. During the few hours she was at home, she was too stressed to truly be present.

In Ashley's words, school was sucking the life out of her.

But all of that changed when she joined the Schools of Excellence Owner's HQ membership program. Inside the membership, Ashley built skills and gained access to resources and coaching that helped her adjust her mindset, better manage her time, and transform her school's culture.

With the support of other owners, she learned to use her hours at school more productively and set healthier boundaries, which made her more intentional about how and where she was spending her time.

As a result, not only did the line between school and home become better defined, but Ashley was able to reduce the number of hours she spent at her center to just 10 hours per week!

And Ashley isn't the exception either. She's one of hundreds of owners and directors who have transformed their schools—and lives—thanks to the opportunities available in the membership.

So, when I asked you whether you thought it was possible to spend less than 40 hours per week at your center, it wasn't hyperbole. It was a question based on the very real experiences of leaders just like you.

If you're ready to start spending less time running your center and more time focused on its growth and development, I encourage you to check out this week's podcast episode. You'll hear more about Ashley's story and how the membership impacted her life and leadership.

Join us for a conversation about:

• The struggles Ashley faced before joining the membership
• What she learned by being surrounded by other like-minded owners
• How her center looks now that she's a more confident leader
• What's next for her and her school

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If Ashley's story resonated with you, don't wait and apply for the membership today. Within the Director's Inner Circle and Owner's HQ membership programs, you'll gain access to the same tools, resources, coaching, and community that made such a huge impact on Ashley's leadership.

If you don't think you're quite ready for the membership, we have a variety of other resources that can help you become a more effective leader, such as our Time Management & Accountability bundle. It contains a series of tools and templates that will help you make better use of your time so you can spend fewer hours at school and focus on the growth and development of your center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/time

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to...

View Details

I know that the impending chaos of a new year is incredibly unsettling. You’re preparing for new kids, new teachers, new protocols, and new expectations, and you know everyone will look at you like deer in the headlights.

It's inevitable… and believe it or not, that's a good thing.

Confused? Stay with me.

When you operate under the assumption that the start-of-the-school year mayhem is avoidable, any disorder that occurs becomes a reflection of your competency as a leader.

The chaos becomes your fault, and it produces feelings of anxiety, self-doubt, and even shame.

But when you recognize that chaos is simply an inherent characteristic of transition—not a result of your leadership—you give yourself the opportunity to take a deep breath, adjust your mindset, and create a plan for how to deal with the inevitable disarray of a novel environment.

In other words, the mark of a strong leader isn't the absence of mayhem. It's the presence of a calm and collected state-of-mind that helps you weather the storm.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm helping you set yourself up for success by talking you through how to prepare for the chaos at the start of the school year.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Where the start-of-the-year chaos comes from
• How it shows up in your life and leaderships
• What can be gained by embracing the mayhem
• Strategies to help you plan for what's to come

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

An important part of navigating the chaos is having people you can rely on for support. In our Director's Inner Circle and Owner's HQ membership programs, you'll have the opportunity to connect with other like-minded leaders who can validate your experience and offer solutions as you work through the transition. As a member, you'll also gain access to tools, resources, and coaching that can help you build and sustain a school of excellence.

Or, if you're looking for easy-to-implement resources that can help you remain focused, check out our Time Management & Accountability bundle. It contains a series of tools and templates that will help you make better use of your time so you can focus on the growth and development of your center. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/time

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

The first staff meeting of the year—we've all been there.

You go into the meeting filled with the ripe excitement of possibility, ready to share your ideas, goals, and expectations. You have all the energy of a student showing off sparkly new notebooks on the first day of school.

Then the meeting happens and… you end up word vomiting over your entire staff.

Sound familiar?

Without a doubt, the deluge of information comes from the very best of intentions. You're optimistic about the school year and want to set your staff up for success by telling them everything they need to know.

But in trying to enmesh every detail into a single meeting without structure—without purpose—you end up spewing information in all directions instead of uniting everyone under a common goal.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm walking you through how to prepare for your first staff meeting so you can start this school year off on the right foot.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The importance of creating structure for your staff meeting
• The three segments of a successful meeting
• What to discuss (and not to discuss!)
• Questions to ask your staff to promote teamwork and school values

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

While there's definitely a formula to running a successful staff meeting, it's also a skill that takes time to build. I can help you develop that skill within our Owner's HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs, which provides leaders like you with ongoing access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that can help you build and sustain a school of excellence.

Or, if you're looking for easy-to-implement resources that you can start using today, check out our Time Management & Accountability bundle. It contains a series of tools and templates that will help you make better use of your time—whether at staff meetings or at the desk in your office. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/time-management-bundle/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Take a moment to remember why you became a school leader.

If you’re anything like me and the leaders in my programs, you’re interested in leaving a legacy in your community.

You want to positively impact the next generation of children and the community you serve.

To leave a lasting legacy, you have to play the long game.

The concept of legacy is one we’ll be exploring during this final episode of our five-part series of the Pyramid of Excellence.

This week, we’re at the top of the Pyramid of Excellence: Aligned and Legacy Stages.

In the Aligned Stage, you’re introducing new initiatives and levels of programming to carry your center forward, while the Legacy Stage is all about your long-term vision and creating sustainability beyond your own tenure.

It’s time to go beyond the leadership development of the previous Integrated Stage and identify the people I call “lifers.” These are the “ride-or-die” individuals who will link with you to ensure the ongoing, long-term success of your center.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Developing a succession plan for your center with those most equipped to carry the torch
• Evaluating and refining the long-term sustainability of your center
• What it looks like to work in the Aligned vs. the Legacy stage
• Managing your stress, attitude, and capacity for discomfort
• The emotional journey of stepping into a new, legacy role

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

In the Schools of Excellence Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership program, we’re used to complicated emotions. By joining our community, you'll get tools, resources, and coaching to help you flourish, even in the face of complexity.

At the Aligned and Legacy Stages of your business, you’re also learning to hand over some of the responsibilities you’ve clung to. In the Delegate to Elevate Workshop, you’ll learn how to approach delegation in a way that will allow you to truly set yourself up for a legacy role. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegate

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Many of the school leaders I meet are in the midst of growing their centers, and they all share one common challenge.

Balancing expansion with the quality of education.

Can you relate?

Striking this balance is no small feat, and it requires complete trust in your team. More than that—it’s crucial work for the long-term development of your center.

The good news is you have the Pyramid of Excellence as a guide to help you think about how to expand your center while ensuring the quality of your programming.

It’s the primary focus of the next stage of the Pyramid of Excellence: Integrated.

To navigate this stage, you must get strategic, clarify roles and responsibilities, and hold yourself accountable.

Feeling comfortable within this stage is so important, because this is where most center leaders spend the vast majority of their career.

We’ll explore the Integrated Stage in this week's podcast episode—the fourth in our five-part series about the Pyramid of Excellence. If you missed any of the previous episodes on Survival or Disordered, make sure you give them a listen first!

Then, join me for a conversation about:

• Practical tips and insights for navigating the complex Integrated stage
• Aligning your center’s team with the values of the company
• How to navigate this stage in a healthy, balanced way
• Developing a strategic plan for the next stage in the Pyramid

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

At the Integrated Stage, it’s so important to find a support system. Within the Schools of Excellence Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs, you’ll have access to a community of other owners and directors who are actively working through the Pyramid of Excellence, along with tools, resources, and coaching that will help you move forward with confidence.

Another important aspect of the Integrated Stage is delegation. You have a team and now it’s time to trust them! With our on-demand Delegate to Elevate Workshop, you can learn how to hand off responsibilities, free up more of your time, and enhance your quality of life. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegate

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Does any of this sound familiar?

• You know you need a strong team, but you don’t feel like you have the infrastructure to support it
• Constant questions are coming your way, pulling you in every direction
• Work-life balance has become a thing of the past, and your personal life is feeling the strain

If any of the above are true for you, your center might be in the Disordered Stage of the Pyramid of Excellence.

This is where you need to build communication and trust… but are also dealing with a lot of overwhelm. Everyone is busy, and slowing down feels impossible.

Fortunately, there’s some good news buried within that stress. For one, if you’ve recently entered the Disordered Stage, it means you’re growing. That’s something to celebrate!

More importantly, there are clear steps for moving forward.

In this week's podcast episode, we're continuing our deep dive into the Pyramid of Excellence by exploring the second phase of your center's journey through the pyramid: the Disordered Stage.

Join me for a conversation about:

• How to build trust, communication, and transparency within your team
• The impact of the Disordered Stage on self-care, personal relationships, and work-life balance
• What to do to stabilize operations in a sustainable way that allows you to avoid burnout and maintain school culture
• Steps to move to the next stage in the Pyramid

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Feeling like you’ve lost any sense of harmony between your center and your home is a challenging place to be. Finding this balance is a frequent topic in the Schools of Excellence Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain ongoing access to tools, resources, coaching, and a community that will help you find the equilibrium you're looking for so you can continue building a school of excellence.

You can also learn how to create more space for your personal life through our on-demand Delegate to Elevate Workshop. In this 90-minute online workshop, I'll show you how to delegate effectively so you can better respond to your team’s needs, manage your schedule, and decrease your workload. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegate

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Everyone starts somewhere.

You may have just opened a new center. Or maybe you’re coming through the other end of a crisis.

Either way, this major phase of transition has placed you in the first stage of the Pyramid of Excellence: Survival.

Survival isn’t inherently bad. In fact, it can be connected to beautiful moments of surrender, opportunity, and hope.

It’s also finite: Most centers only exist in Survival for a few months. During that time, there are a lot of questions and decisions to make.

In this week's podcast episode, we’re diving deep into this busy period of a center’s life to help you better understand what it looks like and what you can do to move through it as gracefully as possible.

Join me for a conversation about:

• What causes a center to hit Survival, even if they’ve been around for a while
• The different characteristics of a center at the Survival stage
• Specific steps for getting out of Survival and moving to the next stage

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If you’re feeling the pressure, this is a wonderful time to join our Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. No matter which stage your center is at, we can help you get the tools you need to thrive.

Or, if you’re looking for resources you can implement quickly, consider enrolling in our on-demand Delegate to Elevate Workshop. This 90-minute workshop will help you learn what to hand off, so you can start to calm the chaos. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegate

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

For years, I've been developing, cultivating, and nurturing the mindset and skills of owners and directors in early childhood education so they can build and sustain schools of excellence.

But it wasn't until somewhat recently that I started to take a hard look at the processes I was using to help leaders.

I wanted to distill them down into a repeatable, consistent framework that allowed leaders to better understand where they were at and what they needed to work on next.

That’s how the Pyramid of Excellence was born.

It’s a trademarked system that allows you to see exactly where you are on your journey so you can lay the proper foundation for building a school of excellence.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm kicking off a 5-part series about the Pyramid of Excellence where I'll break down each part of the pyramid to give you deeper insight into what each stage looks like, as well as what you can do to move forward.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The 5 stages of the Pyramid of Excellence: Survival, Disordered, Integrated, and Aligned, and Legacy
• What each stage looks like from the outside and the inside
• How to gauge which stage you’re in along your journey to building a school of excellence
• What you can do to transition from one stage in the Pyramid to the next

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Moving through the Pyramid of Excellence is no small feat. Every step of the way comes with unique challenges and opportunities. If you’re looking for support along the way, join our Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain ongoing access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you build and sustain a school of excellence.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Let me ask you a couple of questions:

When you're looking at making a big-ticket purchase to update the infrastructure of your school, how long does it take you to pull out the credit card?

What about when you're looking at investing in the professional development of your leadership team?

I'm willing to bet there's a pretty large discrepancy between your first answer and your second, and it's worth asking yourself why.

When you look at everything through a financial lens, it's much easier to measure the ROI of a new carpet in the toddler classroom than leadership training for your education director.

But here's the thing: Humans aren't cash registers.

They have feelings, families, and goals—things that don't cleanly factor into mathematical calculations. And that means that "profitability" in the traditional sense isn't an adequate way of measuring ROI when it comes to your team.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm exploring the shortcomings of traditional ROI in education and leadership development and how school leaders need to change their perspective for the benefit of their teams and centers.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Why traditional ROI doesn’t work in the education field
• Rethinking ROI in a way that doesn’t solely encompass financials
• How to make more aligned ROI decisions

Once you stop using traditional measures of ROI to make every decision, you can start investing more in your team, which will not only help with retention but also the overall success of your center.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If you're looking for long-term support, join our Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain ongoing access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you build a school of excellence.

One investment that can make a huge difference for your center is enrolling in our on-demand Delegate to Elevate Workshop. During the 90-minute workshop, you'll learn how to delegate effectively so you can reclaim your time, improve your quality of life, and lead a high-performing team. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegate

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

For the first time in history, we have 5 different generations in the workplace: the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z.

And it's causing a whole lot of tension across various industries, including early childhood education.

But the source of this tension isn't the fact that there are 5 generations working alongside each other. Instead, the issue stems from the way we're choosing to address this unique time in history.

Whenever you bring different people together in one space, there are bound to be contrasting opinions, varying perspectives, and distinct ways of doing things.

What comes to mind as the perfect example is Passover—children, parents, grandparents (and even great-grandparents!) all in one room, coming together to commemorate a story that each generation experiences differently.

But do those differences prevent us from telling that story and celebrating together as a family?

Of course not! Quite the opposite, in fact. It's our differences that add nuance and develop a deeper understanding of our heritage.

The same can be said within the context of the workplace.

Instead of seeing generational differences as something you need to overcome, manage, or fix, you should look at them as an opportunity to create a more inclusive environment that encourages personal and professional growth.

How you go about shaping that environment is what I'm exploring on this week's podcast. I'll take you through a detailed comparison of the 5 generations and discuss how you as a leader can navigate those differences within your center.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The 5 generations in our modern workforce
• The core characteristics of each generation based on their unique experiences
• How each generation compares in terms of communication styles and motivation
• Strategies for navigating generational differences to create an inclusive environment

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If you're looking for support in navigating generational differences that you can rely on long-term, join our Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain ongoing access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you level up your leadership, transform your culture, and build a school of excellence.

One issue that comes up frequently with regard to generational differences is delegation, as different generations tend to prefer different management styles. If this resonates with you, I encourage you to attend our on-demand Delegate to Elevate Workshop. During this 90-minute online workshop, you'll learn how to delegate effectively so you can manage a high-performing team that will help you achieve your goals. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegate

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers,...

View Details

Do you know the difference between equality and equity?

It's a distinction that could be at the heart of some of the issues you're facing at your center.

Equality is all about fairness. It's about treating each and every person exactly the same way.

And while that may seem great in theory, in practice, it ultimately harms your center's culture and prevents you from maximizing your team's potential.

Let me give you a real-life example from a school leader who I'll call Lisa.

Lisa was leading a group of 30 teachers, and she was struggling with team accountability—specifically punctuality.

One of the teachers that was failing to show up on time was a single mom. Without any help at home, she couldn't find a way to get her kids to school and come to work on time.

Being the empathetic leader she is, Lisa could see that the issue was largely outside of the teacher's control. Plus, the teacher was otherwise very reliable and wonderful at her job.

So, to solve the problem, Lisa was willing to create a flexible schedule that would allow the teacher to stay late to make up for the missed time in the morning.

Except for one problem: fairness.

Even though she had come up with a reasonable solution, Lisa was afraid to implement it out of fear of being unfair to the other teachers.

The thing is, life isn't fair. Nor should it be!

Why? Because every single person is different. And by ignoring that fact, you risk denying what makes them unique and alienating them rather than lifting them up.

The solution, then, is to treat your team equitably rather than equally.

Unlike equality, which views everyone through the lens of sameness, equity is about seeing people's differences and providing them with what they need to succeed.

By recognizing that everyone has strengths and weaknesses, you can create a stronger and more cohesive team.

And isn't that the ultimate goal?

In this week's podcast episode, I'm exploring what I like to call "the fairness game," or the idea that treating people equally is the mark of good leadership. As you'll learn in the episode, this is far from the truth and can actually harm your center.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Why treating all employees fairly, or equally, is a bad idea
• The important difference between equality and equity
• How to create an equitable environment at your center
• Replacing fairness-based leadership with values-based leadership

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If you're looking for long-term support in creating a healthier school environment, join our Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain ongoing access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you become a stronger leader for your center.

In addition to creating a more equitable environment, you can learn to maximize your team's potential by attending our on-demand Delegate to Elevate Workshop. During the 90-minute online workshop, you'll learn how to delegate effectively so you can develop a high-performing team that can support you as you work toward building a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegate

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

As rewarding as leadership can be, it's also incredibly lonely.

When you're the person who people go to for guidance and support, where does that leave you in your times of need?

It's a question that many owners and directors I work with have grappled with, including Donna Rettle.

In 2016, Donna was hired to work under the Executive Director as the Director of Education at a preschool in upstate New York. Her talent, drive, and fresh perspective made her the perfect candidate to replace the Executive Director when she retired.

The only issue was, no one knew exactly when she would retire.

Although the Executive Director often talked about retiring, she never actually took the steps to make it happen. And this continued for years.

For Donna, this back and forth, will-she-or-won't-she situation was incredibly disheartening. She felt like she was being toyed with and would spend many nights in tears over the uncertainty of her future in the program.

And worst of all, she felt alone. As a director whose issue involved the Executive Director of the preschool, she had no one to consult or lean on for support.

By 2021, Donna had reached her limit. As much as she believed in the program and the work she was doing, she had had enough and was ready to move on.

But just as she was ready to walk away, something happened that changed Donna's perspective: She came across my guest appearance on the HiMama podcast.

Hearing about Schools of Excellence and the work we do with owners and directors suddenly made Donna feel less alone in her struggles. For the first time in five years, she realized she was part of a community—she just needed to find them.

In this week's podcast episode, I sit down with Donna Rettle to talk about her journey from being trapped in isolating limbo to becoming the successful executive director she is today.

We chat about Donna's experience within the Schools of Excellence Director's Inner Circle membership program and how it transformed her life and leadership.

Join us for a conversation about:

• Donna's struggles before joining the membership
• Her experience being a part of the Director's Inner Circle
• How that experience impacted her leadership
• Her goals moving forward as the executive director of her school

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If Donna's story resonates with you and you're looking to transform your leadership just as she did, I encourage you to apply for our Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain ongoing access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you build the skills that will propel your leadership and school forward.

In addition to our membership programs, we have a variety of other resources for owners and directors who want to level up their leadership. One of our latest offerings is our on-demand Delegate to Elevate Workshop. During this 90-minute online workshop, you'll learn how to delegate effectively so you can achieve your goals while reclaiming your life and your time.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

As a leader, you're responsible for a lot of people.

But what does that responsibility really mean?

Is it about taking on the problems of your team and staff? Or is it about helping them become the best professionals and individuals they can be?

You see something I often see when working with owners and directors is their tendency to take responsibility for issues that don't belong to them.

They see a teacher struggling to manage their classroom or come to school on time, and their first reaction is to step in.

Why? Because seeing people in discomfort is uncomfortable, and we think that by taking on their pain, we're helping them in the best way possible.

But the truth is that when you intervene, you're actually taking away from their human experience and eliminating the opportunity for them to learn and grow.

The best thing you can do as a leader is learn to sit with the discomfort of watching others struggle, so you can support them to make their own decisions.

How? That's what I'm discussing on this week's podcast episode.

Join me as I sit down with author, speaker, podcast host, and leadership coach Heather Chauvin for an enlightening conversation about emotional discomfort and how changing your perspective on it can help you become a stronger leader.

We'll be talking about:

• What Heather's learned from her journey through motherhood & cancer treatment
• Compassion fatigue and how it impacts leaders
• What practices you can use to learn to sit with discomfort
• How to help your team & staff learn to manage their own emotions
• Practical tips to help you take action toward developing stronger leadership

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If you'd like to learn more about Heather and her journey, you can check out:

Emotionally Uncomfortable Podcast: https://heatherchauvin.com/podcast

TEDx talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/heather_chauvin_dying_to_be_a_good_mother/details

Dying to be a Good Mother book: https://heatherchauvin.com/book-order

Free resources from Heather: http://heatherchauvin.com/freegifts

You can also attend our on-demand Delegate to Elevate Workshop to learn how to set healthier boundaries around your time. During the 90-minute online workshop, I'll show you how to delegate effectively so you can better manage your schedule, decrease your workload, and develop a high-performing team that can help you build a school of excellence. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegate

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Let me know if this sounds familiar:

• You're emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted on a daily basis
• You feel disconnected from your work, your team, and your staff
• You're doing only what needs to be done to keep your center afloat

If you identify with these statements, you're not alone.

Exhaustion, disconnect, and reduced performance are the three core signs of burnout, and they're running rampant in early childhood education.

But what's perhaps even more common than burnout itself is the denial about how to address it.

While not a medical condition, burnout is not something you can fix with pedicures, bath bombs, or weekend getaways.

Think about it—you didn't become burned out overnight. It's the result of ongoing, damaging behaviors like overworking yourself, failing to set boundaries, and prioritizing success over all else.

So, how can you expect to overcome it in just a couple of weeks?

The truth is that recovering from burnout takes years of intentional self-work.

It's a long and difficult process that requires a strong commitment to yourself, your team, and your staff.

But the end result is not only a stronger leader, but a stronger center.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm exploring the topic of burnout: what it is, why it happens, and how leaders can overcome it so they can create healthier cultures in their schools.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The primary signs of burnout
• The four pillars of burnout & burnout recovery
• How leaders in particular reach the point of burnout
• Strategies to work through burnout (HINT: They don't include taking a vacation)

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If you're looking for long-term support in burnout recovery, join our Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain ongoing access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you become a stronger and more grounded leader for your center.

One of the primary reasons leaders reach a state of burnout is because they try to take on too much on their own. You can work on combating this issue by attending our on-demand Delegate to Elevate Workshop. During the 90-minute workshop, you'll learn how to delegate effectively so you can reclaim your time and improve your quality of life. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegate

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

I hear a lot of leaders say they'd love to provide advancement opportunities for their staff, but no one's interested in taking on more responsibility.

They insist that even with the promise of higher pay, staff members turn down the offer.

Why do you think that is?

The mainstream answer is that not everyone wants to be promoted—some people just want to show up, do their job, and go home.

While that may seem true on the surface, the reality extends far deeper.

At their core, people want to level up—they just lack the confidence to accept the opportunities that come their way.

Your job as a leader is to not only create opportunities for your staff to grow, but also give them the resources to be successful.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm closing out our multipart series on building a culture of retention within your center by focusing on promotion and how you can help everyone on your team and staff reach their full potential.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Why people don't "want" to be promoted
• The different types of growth opportunities available
• Strategies for building a culture of promotion
• How to know whether someone is ready to be promoted

I hope you've found this deep dive into building a culture of retention valuable. My hope is that by combining the strategies you've learned throughout the series, you start to see a difference in your center's retention and can create a team that's just as committed to building a school of excellence as you are.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If you're looking for more intensive support than a workshop can provide, I encourage you to join our Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain ongoing access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you become a stronger leader for your staff.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

A while back, I was working with a school that was having trouble with one of their new teachers. She was relatively new to her role, and although she was gentle and loving to the children, she was struggling with classroom management and transitions.

The owner and director of the center knew they needed to discuss the issue with the teacher, but they were afraid of initiating such a difficult conversation. In particular, they feared that if they tried to provide feedback, the teacher would leave her job.

If this situation sounds familiar, I'm not surprised. It comes up again and again among the leaders I work with.

One of the hardest parts of having difficult conversations is holding people accountable for their actions. We think that when we push people toward accountability, they'll leave and never come back.

But holding people accountable isn't about pushing people away—it's about creating stability, safety, and continuity inside your center, which are all things that significantly contribute to retention.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm continuing our multipart series on building a culture of retention within your center.

This time, I'll be focusing on accountability and how you as a leader can better hold your staff—and yourself—accountable and increase retention.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Accountability and why we fear it
• How accountability is foundational to relationships
• The difference between a culture of blame and a culture of accountability
• How to create a culture of accountability within your center

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

if you're looking for support that you can rely on long-term, join our Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll gain ongoing access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you as you build a school of excellence.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

One of our core needs as human beings is a sense of service which prompts us to help and support others. Put differently, we have an innate need to want to contribute in a meaningful way.

Yet the pattern I see in a lot of centers is that their culture is built around obligation rather than contribution.

In a culture of obligation, people see obstacles as burdens, changing demands as reasons to give up, and unclear directions as an excuse to wait to be told what to do. It's a type of environment where people are there because they feel they have to be.

On the other hand, in a culture of contribution, people view obstacles as situations to step up, changing demands as chances to collaborate, and unclear directions as opportunities to become a leader.

In this culture, people aren't there because they feel they have to be—they're there because they want to be. They stick around because they want to contribute to something greater than themselves.

But that sort of environment isn't created out of nothing. It takes careful reflection on your part as a leader to cultivate a space where your team and staff want to show up in meaningful ways.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm continuing our multipart series on building a culture of retention within your center.

This time, I'll be focusing on contribution and how cultivating this type of environment can create long-term benefits for your center.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The difference between a culture of contribution and a culture of obligation
• Contribution and why it has a place among the 6 core human needs
• Why few people have contribution as part of their retention strategy
• 7 questions to consider when cultivating a culture of contribution in your center

This episode requires a lot of reflection, so you may want to listen more than once or save it for a moment when you can sit down and focus. But rest assured that the effort you dedicate to self-reflection now will help you immensely as you start to make changes within your center.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Looking for support as you work on developing a mindset of contribution among your team and staff? Our Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs provide the perfect space to validate your struggles, learn from other leaders, and brainstorm solutions. Plus, you'll also get access to other tools, resources, and coaching that will help you on your journey to building a school of excellence.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Do you remember when the only people on-call 24/7 were emergency workers?

Back then, there was a much clearer divide between work and life. Once you left the "office," you could focus your attention on whatever was happening at home until you returned to work.

These days, it's far less simple. We live in a world of instant gratification, where smart phones and watches and other devices ping and ding at all hours, programming us to always be on-call.

This has blurred the separation between our personal and professional lives, leading to enormous amounts of stress, emotional exhaustion, and burnout within our centers.

But contrary to popular rhetoric, the answer isn't to return to a complete separation.

In fact, I don't think there was ever a real separation between work and home. So much of what we do professionally impacts our personal lives and vice versa.

What we need is to find harmony between the two worlds.

By creating space for your staff to enrich their lives through activities and experiences that exist beyond their professional lives, the more likely they are to feel fulfilled in their work and want to stick around.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm continuing our multipart series on building a culture of retention within your center.

This time, we're focusing on quality of life and how it impacts your staff's performance, wellbeing, and willingness to stay.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The impact of instant gratification on our ability to create a work-life balance
• Why we need harmony rather than separation between work and home
• How to create that harmony within your center
• Specific strategies to encourage work-life harmony and integration

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Quality of life is an ongoing topic of conversation within our Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. If you're looking to get support and solutions from other leaders who are on the same journey, I encourage you to fill out an application. In addition to an incredible community, members also gain access to tools, resources, and coaching that can help them build schools of excellence.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

What does it feel like when you belong?

It's not always easy to put into words, but when you know, you know.

Think about what it's like to go to the mall. Each of its stores has a unique environment and style that appeal to different types of people—you won't find the same crowd in Abercrombie & Fitch as you would in Old Navy.

The reason for that has to do with belonging.

Even if you can't explain why, you feel drawn to certain stores over others because in some way, they make you feel like part of a community—one that welcomes you in without judgment.

It's an experience that many leaders have had at our Summit of Excellence, including Sheila Smozynski. At last year's event, Sheila was deeply moved by the connection she felt with other owners and directors:

"This room is a safe space. I feel so supported! People shared hard things at the table, and there were tears. I feel I can relate, and most importantly, I belong here! I can share my story because no one will judge me. Chanie created an energy in the room where we all just want to connect and build relationships."

Feeling like you belong is a powerful experience. It has the potential to make or break the way you feel about an entire community of people.

And that's exactly why it's so important that you nourish a sense of belonging among your staff.

Creating a culture of community in your center not only supports the health and well-being of your staff, but it also makes them want to stay—which is what so many owners and directors need during a time when staffing is such a hot topic within the early childhood education space.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm diving into the first of a multipart series on building a culture of retention within your center.

To begin, I'm focusing on the role of gratitude and community in creating an environment that your staff are excited to be a part of.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Why retention continues to be a struggle for early childhood education programs
• Community and what it means to design a culture of belonging
• Why the way you were raised affects your mindset toward community
• How the gratitude matrix can make staff feel valued and appreciated

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

I love doing these deep dive series together, but in truth, there's so much more to explore than I could ever put in a podcast. If you want to go even deeper in building a culture of retention and challenge yourself as a leader, our Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs are the perfect space for you.

You'll have the opportunity to grow alongside other leaders through a combination of tools, resources, and coaching that will help you build a school of excellence and leave behind a legacy.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Within the early childhood education space, many owners have dreams of growing their centers but are hesitant about taking on investors.

Oftentimes, their skepticism stems from the fear of their vision being compromised by a loss of control and misaligned values.

And while this is a valid concern, it's also misplaced.

Taking on an investor isn't like hiring a boss. It's not about handing over the power to the person with the most capital.

Instead, working with an investor is like building a partnership. The goal is to find a person who understands your vision and shares your values, so they can help you build your legacy.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm sitting down with my long-time collaborator and friend, Scott Wayman of Kangarootime, to chat about how to change the narrative surrounding investors and funding in the early childhood education space.

Join us for a conversation about:

• Scott's journey in building his business as someone from a modest background
• His experience finding Kangarootime's first investor
• What you should look for in an investor
• How to prepare your business for seeking out capital funding
• The latest exciting updates from Kangarootime

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Capital funding and investment partnerships are just one aspect of building your legacy. Through our Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs, you can join other leaders who are working toward creating schools of excellence and gain access to tools, resources, community, and coaching that will help you achieve your goals.

Speaking of partnerships, this year I'm collaborating with Kangarootime by participating as a speaker at their annual Bounce conference for childcare owners and leaders. I'll be one of many experts and business owners presenting on topics related to the industry. You can find out more about the conference and grab your ticket here: https://www.bounceconference.com/registration

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

​We all have limits to what we can tolerate… and what we can't.

Once, I was working with a director who went into a tailspin if the grapes at snack time weren't sliced. Whenever she saw that a staff member had forgotten to slice them, she would react with panic and anger.

While un-sliced grapes may not bother everyone to such a degree, they pushed this director to her limits.

Whether it's fruit that's not cut or showing up late to meetings, everyone has different limits and triggers, and it's important to be aware of what they are—not just for your own sake but for the sake of your team and center.

Your triggers can cause you to react harshly out of the blue, pushing your team and staff into a state of hypervigilance. And once they've entered that state, they're more likely to make mistakes with the important tasks you delegate.

This can lead you to think they're not fit for the role when, in reality, they just might need more patience and guidance to be successful.

So, how do you know when it's really time to fire someone?

This week's podcast episode is the final in a three-part series exploring the Delegation Dip and how you as a leader can respond—rather than react—to this phenomenon. This week, I'm talking about how your triggers may be causing you to fire quality team members too early and what you can do about it.

Join me for a conversation about:

• How the "hire slow, fire fast" paradigm lacks the nuance of reality
• Understanding the triggers that may cause you to overreact to performance
• How to know if you're firing too quickly
• The difference between standards and expectations

It's tempting to want to look at firing in a black-and-white way. But the reality is far less simple. Deciding when to retain a team member (or when to let them go) requires that you lead with discernment—a skill that you'll continue to build as you grow in your leadership.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Discernment is just one of the skills we work on in the Schools of Excellence Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. If you're looking to gain access to tools, resources, community, and coaching that will help you take your leadership to the next level, I encourage you to apply today.

As a member, you'll also be able to take advantage of our new partnership with BetterHelp, the world's largest online counseling provider. We've partnered with BetterHelp because we value the mental health and emotional wellbeing of our leaders. So, together we're giving our members (plus their leadership teams and staff) one FREE month of counseling, as well as 15% off for all future sessions.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

What if I told you that training a new team member wasn't much different from coaching an Olympian?

Bear with me for a second.

When you coach your son's Little League baseball team, you're likely giving him and all his teammates one of their first introductions to the sport. That means you have to teach them every aspect of the game—from their batting technique to how to lose gracefully.

That's going to be very different from the experience of a coach who's training an Olympian, someone who's already the best of the best at what they do.

And yet… Olympians still need to be coached.

The difference between coaching Little League and coaching Olympians (aside from the obvious age and size difference) lies in what the athletes need to be coached on.

The same can be said within the context of your center.

Do you see where I'm going with this? If not, keep reading.

Of course, every school leader wants to hire an "Olympian"—the team member who can hold their own and exceed expectations.

But hiring a top-notch employee doesn't mean that person doesn't need any training at all. In fact, falling into the trap of thinking you can leave them to their own devices is an example of neglect, and it happens all too often.

This week's podcast episode is the second in a three-part series exploring the Delegation Dip and how you as a leader can respond—rather than react—to this phenomenon. This week, I'm talking about neglect, which is the sneakiest reaction to the Delegation Dip.

Join me for a conversation about:

• What neglect is and why it happens
• The signs of neglect and how it develops over time
• Its effect on relationships in the workplace
• How to course correct once you've identified it

To be successful, every team member—whether closer to the Olympian or Little League end of the spectrum—needs loving guidance and support, no matter how capable they are. As a leader, it's up to you to ensure that no one gets left behind.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

At Schools of Excellence we're committed to supporting the mental health and emotional wellbeing of our leaders. That's why we've partnered with BetterHelp, the world's largest online counseling provider, to give our members (plus their leadership teams and staff) one FREE month of counseling, as well as 15% off for all future sessions.

If you aren't currently a member but would like to benefit from our partnership with BetterHelp, you can fill out an application for our Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll not only have the chance to invest in your mental health but also gain access to tools, resources, community, and coaching that will support you on your journey to building a school of excellence.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Discernment is a topic I address here often, and for good reason: It's a key ingredient to many aspects of strong leadership.

One of the areas in which discernment is especially important is delegation.

Whether at home with your family or at school with your team, there are times to delegate and there are times to maintain ownership of tasks.

Just as you wouldn't delegate the responsibility of driving your car to your 12-year-old son, you wouldn't delegate a high-level, mission-critical task to someone who's new to the school or their role.

And when you do decide it's appropriate to delegate a task, it's important that you keep in mind what I call the "Delegation Dip."

The Delegation Dip is a 3–6 month period where the one who's newly responsible for a task is still learning the ropes. During this time, no matter how qualified the person may be, they're likely to underperform as they learn how to meet (and exceed) expectations.

It can be extremely difficult for leaders to be patient during the Delegation Dip—usually because they care so deeply about the overall outcome. And that can lead to three different negative behaviors: micromanaging, neglecting, and hiring too soon.

This week's podcast episode is the first in a three-part series exploring the Delegation Dip and how you as a leader can respond—rather than react—to this phenomenon. Today, I'm discussing micromanaging, the first of the three most common negative reactions to the Delegation Dip.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The process of deciding when to delegate
• The Delegation Dip and the three most common ways leaders react to it
• What micromanaging looks like
• How you can avoid micromanaging during the Delegation Dip

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

As excited as I am about this podcast series, I'm really only able to scratch the surface of the Delegation Dip and the role it may be playing in your center. If you want to dive deeper into this and other aspects of leadership, you should apply to join our Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs, where you'll gain access to tools, resources, community, and coaching that will help you build a school of excellence.

In addition, as a member, you'll also have a chance to take advantage of our new partnership with BetterHelp, the world's largest online counseling provider. As part of our commitment to supporting the mental and emotional wellbeing of our leaders, we're working with BetterHelp to give our members (plus their leadership teams and staff) one FREE month of counseling, as well as 15% off for all future sessions.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

When you go to a restaurant, the quality of the food is critical to whether or not you like the restaurant and want to go back.

But food isn't the only thing that matters, is it? There are a lot of other aspects of the experience that are just as important, if not more so. The service, atmosphere, and cost are just a few things that come to mind.

Well, the same can be said about early childhood education.

Just like the food at a restaurant, the children are the highest priority at your school. Their health, safety, and education are at the center of everything you do.

But the parent experience is also absolutely critical to a child's success, which means that they, too, deserve careful attention.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm sitting down with Ron Spreeuwenberg, the Co-Founder & CEO of HiMama, a software company that helps early childhood education centers manage their schools, engage parents, and support their staff.

During the episode, Ron and I chat about why the parent experience is so important to early childhood education centers and what you and your team can be doing to make it more of a priority this year.

Join us for a conversation about:

• The story and values behind HiMama
• Why parent communication and engagement is so critical
• How to better address the concerns of today's parents
• What early childhood education leaders need to be thinking about for 2023

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

At Schools of Excellence we value the mental health and emotional well being of our leaders. That's why we've partnered with BetterHelp, the world's largest online counseling provider, to give our members (plus their leadership teams and staff) one FREE month of counseling, as well as 15% off for all future sessions.

If you aren't currently a member but would like to benefit from our partnership with BetterHelp, you can fill out an application for our Owner's Only HQ and Director's Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll not only have the chance to invest in your mental health but also gain access to tools, resources, community, and coaching that will support you on your journey to building a school of excellence.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Raising tuition can be a touchy subject for owners. It's something you know you have to do—something you have the right to do—and yet you feel the need to justify it every time.

This was also true for Courtney Greiner, owner of Mini Mos Child Care and Preschool.

In the early years of running her school, Courtney struggled to find a balance between the desire to improve her center and the very real costs of running her business.

After exhausting every other possibility, Courtney finally came to the conclusion that she had to implement a tuition increase. It was the only way to keep the school running at the high standard her community deserved and set goals for future improvements.

At first, she felt beyond guilty. She knew many parents were struggling financially and didn't want to create more of a burden for them.

But eventually, Courtney realized that the parents were getting so much value for the tuition they were paying. Her teachers were incredible, the curriculum was exceptional, and the children were provided with all kinds of additional opportunities for enrichment.

Her center deserved to be well-funded.

In the end, it turned out that Courtney's anxiety was for nothing. After she raised the tuition, she saw that the parents didn't complain about the increase at all. Just as she had recognized the quality of the education her center was providing, so did the parents.

The only real obstacle that entire time was Courtney's own mindset.

In this week's podcast episode, I sit down with Courtney Greiner to talk not only about money mindset, but also the many other takeaways she has gleaned during her 5-year membership in our Owner's Only HQ program.

Join Courtney and I as we chat about:

• The state of her center before joining the membership
• How her personal relationships have changed since becoming a member
• Her journey to shifting her money mindset
• How the culture of her center has evolved
• Why you should bet on yourself and consider joining the membership too

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Courtney was hesitant to bet on herself at first, but once she did, she realized that an investment in herself was really an investment in her center. If you're ready to take an important step toward creating your own school of excellence, I invite you to fill out an application for our Owner’s Only HQ and Director’s Inner Circle membership programs.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

You already know that feedback is an important part of growth. All of us need to be given the chance to view our work critically so we can find the areas that need improvement.

This is especially true of you as a leader. To build a school of excellence, you need to be able to receive honest feedback from trusted members of your team.

But feedback—as its name suggests—is focused on the past. As a result, it often focuses too much on the mistakes that were made, and this understandably causes people to get defensive or shut down.

A different approach is to provide feedforward. In contrast to feedback, feedforward focuses on the future, pointing out opportunities for growth rather than mistakes.

This change in perspective not only reduces feelings of judgment, but also reinforces positive interpersonal relationships that make it easier to break through barriers and progress toward excellence.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm closing out our series on Decoding Your Culture by discussing how to use feedforward to drive growth among you and your team.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The difference between feedback and feedforward
• What feedforward looks like in conversation
• What to keep in mind when giving and receiving feedforward
• How to manage emotions when receiving feedforward
• How to discern from whom you should seek out feedforward

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

In addition to reaching out to us with your questions and suggestions, you can continue your education and growth by joining our Owner’s Only HQ and Director’s Inner Circle. As a member, you'll gain access to tools, resources, community, and coaching that will help you grow in ways you never imagined.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Last week, I talked about drama and the toll it can take on the culture of your center. We started to identify the different symptoms of drama to look out for, including complaining about the small things, gossip, and playing the victim.

Another sign that drama has infiltrated your school culture is inconsistent actions and behaviors among your team. In other words, when someone goes from one extreme behavior to another—extremely forgiving to hyper-critical or exceptionally kind to highly rude.

These inconsistencies are difficult to spot because they require you to pay attention over a long period of time.

What's more, inconsistent actions and behaviors are also one of the most toxic patterns of drama, because they cause your team and staff to become hypervigilant—walking on eggshells in fear of unpredictable treatment and standards.

Without exaggeration, it can destroy your school's culture from the inside out.

So, how do you combat this insidious form of drama? By becoming an emotionally mature leader.

In this week's podcast episode, we'll continue our Decoding Your Culture series by furthering our exploration of the different types of drama and talking about how to combat it through emotionally mature leadership.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Inconsistent actions and behaviors and what they can look like
• Manipulation and the widespread damage it causes
• Real-life examples of these types of drama in action
• What drama-free, emotionally mature leadership looks like

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If you want to achieve the level of emotionally mature leadership described in this episode, you should join our Owner’s Only HQ and Director’s Inner Circle membership programs. These programs are designed to provide you with the tools, resources, community, and coaching you need to grow into the type of leader you've always wanted to be.

As a member, you'll also have the opportunity to attend this year's Summit of Excellence (February 28–March 2), which centers on building legacy through values-based leadership. The topics we discuss during the event will help you deepen your understanding of how to lead your school to excellence. I hope to see you there! Learn More: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summit

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Gossip is a normal part of the human experience—I mean, who doesn't perk up their ears when they hear a juicy piece of information?

We all engage in at least some of the time because it plays an important role in our ability to connect with others.

But… some individuals gossip significantly more than others. (I'm sure we can all name people in our lives who jump on gossip like hungry wolves devouring their next meal.)

And that craving for gossip is one of the telltale signs of drama, including within your center.

Drama is something you should be paying attention to in your school. It takes up the bandwidth of owners and directors and prevents the growth of a healthy culture.

Where there's drama, there's a misalignment of values. It’s only through shared values that you can build a school of excellence.

So, aside from gossip, what other signs of drama should you be looking out for?

In this week's podcast episode, I begin to explore that question in the second part of our Decoding Your Culture series.

Join me as I talk about:

• Drama and its impact on you as a leader
• Why gossip is one of the single most destructive forces in human relationships
• The compounding nature of complaining about the small things
• How playing the victim affects the people around you

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If the stories from today's episode resonate with you, I encourage you to fill out an application to join our Owner’s Only HQ and Director’s Inner Circle membership programs.

As a member, you'll not only gain access to tools, resources, community, and coaching that can help you improve the culture of your school, but you'll also have the opportunity to attend this year's Summit of Excellence (February 28–March 2), which centers on building legacy through values-based leadership. It's a truly transformational experience you won't want to miss! Learn more: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summit

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

When I talk about school culture, I'm not talking about Secret Santa gift exchanges, karaoke night, or the pingpong table in the breakroom.

Instead, culture is about the conversation that happens around the ping pong table. It's the set of shared core values and practices that define the day-to-day interactions and decisions in your center.

A healthy culture is essential to building a school of excellence, so keeping a finger on the pulse of your center's culture is something you should prioritize.

But how can you evaluate the state of your current culture if it's not about the gift cards and the pizza parties? How do you actually identify whether your team and staff are united under a set of shared core values and practices?

The best way to determine the health of your culture is by looking at the emotional behaviors happening in your center each and every day—and more specifically—your emotional behaviors.

Where's the focus of your stress? Your frustration? Your anger?

Emotions are data points that help you understand where there's tension and a mismatch of values. With that information in hand, you can evaluate the state of your culture and decide what you can do to pivot in the right direction.

Because starting with you is how you create the ripple effect that will inspire change in everyone else.

In this week's podcast episode, I'm diving into a new series called Decoding Your Culture. In the first episode, I'm looking at what culture is and how to evaluate what's going on in your own center.

Join me for a conversation about:

• What school culture is (and isn't)
• The easiest way to evaluate your center's culture
• How to understand the emotional behaviors involved in your school culture right now
• The importance of staying connected to the people you serve

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Culture is going to be a huge topic at this year's Summit of Excellence (February 28–March 2), which centers on building legacy through values-based leadership. If you're interested in diving deeper into culture and how you can create a healthier environment in your center, I encourage you to join us! Learn more here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summit

While the event is limited to members, non-members can still attend by filling out an application to join our Owner’s Only HQ and Director’s Inner Circle membership programs today. As a member, you'll also gain access to tools, resources, community, and coaching that will help you build a school of excellence.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

If you had to be brutally honest with yourself right now, where are you focusing the majority of your attention?

On yourself? On your family?

Or are you primarily focusing on your center?

If that's you, you're definitely not alone. Many of the owners and directors I work with have been in your shoes, including Aliyah Johnson-Roberts.

Back in 2020, Aliyah found herself so focused on her center that she was obliging herself to stay at school, even when she wasn't needed. Day after day, she found herself sitting at her desk well past 5pm instead of spending time at home.

It was not only affecting her well-being, but also her family's.

Then, in June of that year, Aliyah decided that enough was enough. She decided to join the Owner’s Only HQ with the hope that it could help her bring more balance into her life.

With the support of fellow owners, Aliyah started to realize that her mindset was at the root of her struggle. She recognized that while she had always looked at her students and staff as her responsibility, that wasn't true of her family.

Once she came to that realization and learned to shift her mindset, she found the balance she was looking for. It not only improved her and her family's well-being, but also created a healthier school culture and the center’s most profitable year ever.

In this week's podcast episode, I invite you to examine your own mindset as I sit down with Aliyah to talk about her experience in our Schools of Excellence membership program.

Join Aliyah and I for a conversation about:

• The status of her center before she became a member
• How she shifted the mindset that was keeping her anchored to her desk
• How the community she's found among other members has enriched her life
• The ROI her center has experienced since joining the program
• The goals she has for her center moving forward

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If Aliyah's story resonates with you, I highly encourage you to apply for our Owner’s Only HQ and Director’s Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you'll not only experience the support of a like-minded community of members just like Aliyah, but also gain access to tools, resources, and coaching that will help you on your journey to building a school of excellence.

As a member, you'll also be eligible to attend our 2023 Summit of Excellence. This year's members-only event focuses on building legacy through values-based leadership and includes a variety of special activities and experiences that you won't find anywhere else. You won't want to miss it! Learn more here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summit

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

In the midst of the pandemic, there were days when I wondered whether we'd ever return to attending in-person events.

As helpful as Zoom was during that time, there was a silent collective agreement that virtual events could never compare to the energy and connection we experience when interacting with others face-to-face.

Fortunately, we've since gone back to in-person events, and it's been a welcome respite from the years of isolation.

But I've also noticed that the return to these events has impacted the way we see them. Post-pandemic, we view our time as more valuable, so we're more intentional about how and where we spend it.

And that means being particular about the events we choose to take part in.

The thing is, not all events are created equal. They all have different purposes and qualities that can impact your decision to attend, like cost, location, and networking opportunities.

So, how do you tease apart these differences to ensure you're spending your precious time wisely?

In this week's podcast episode, I dig into the different types of events and how to discern which ones to invest in based on your personal needs and goals.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The four most common types of events
• What sets these events apart from one another
• Which factors to consider when deciding which events to attend
• Why our Summit of Excellence should be at the top of your list (HINT: It's one-of-a-kind!)

The most important takeaway from this episode is that while there are many valuable events out there, only YOU can determine which ones are best for you, your team, and the goals you have for your center.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

You can start practicing your discernment skills by choosing whether to attend our 2023 Summit of Excellence, which focuses on how to build legacy through values-based leadership. Learn more here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summit

To make this year's event a truly special experience, we've limited attendance to members of our Owner’s Only HQ and Director’s Inner Circle programs. However, it's not too late for non-members to get tickets! All you have to do is fill out a membership application.

By becoming a member, you'll not only get the chance to attend the event, but also take advantage of the tools, resources, community, and coaching that our programs have to offer. I hope to see you there!

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

It's the beginning of 2023, which means the promise of a whole new year of possibilities!

As a visionary, you're likely especially anxious about getting started on tackling your new goals for your center.

But as a visionary, you also need to ensure you stay grounded in reality—and that means recognizing that not every new opportunity is of real value to your center.

Because you want the very best for your school, you can be particularly susceptible to what's called "shiny object syndrome."

Shiny object syndrome is the continual state of distraction brought on by the ongoing belief that there’s always something new worth pursuing. In early childhood education, this can look like a new software, curriculum, or even the latest teaching technique.

With so many potential opportunities, it's easy to let your imagination run wild. But if you're always focused on the possibilities, you become distracted from the present and the goals you're working on right now.

So, how do you know what's truly an opportunity worth pursuing and what's simply a distraction from the big picture?

In this week's podcast episode, I'm digging into shiny object syndrome and how you can tease apart opportunities from distractions.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The sneaky "shiny object syndrome" trap
• The different types of shiny objects
• How to avoid falling into the trap
• How to undo any damage that's already been done
• Ways to better prepare ourselves and our teams for shiny object syndrome

Your excitement about new opportunities may sometimes be a weakness, but it can also be your greatest strength. As long as you keep your sights focused on what matters, you can use your visionary power to steer your ship toward the legacy you want to build for your center.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Speaking of building a legacy, we'll be diving into how to build legacy through values-based leadership at our 2023 Summit of Excellence. While this year’s summit is limited to members only, it’s not too late for non-members to participate. Just fill out an application for our Owner’s Only HQ and Director’s Inner Circle membership programs today. learn more here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summit

As a member, you’ll not only have the chance to attend the Summit of Excellence, but you’ll also benefit from tools, resources, community, and coaching that will produce real results and help you build a school of excellence.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

One struggle that seems to come up again and again for school leaders is onboarding.

Year after year, I see owners and directors stressing over this consistent and necessary aspect of running a school—almost as if they didn't see it coming.

If you fall into the same boat, I want you to pause and consider why that might be.

If onboarding is such a repetitive process, why does it continue to be so difficult for you and your team?

Chances are it's because you're stuck in the automatic mode of reacting to what's happening each time you onboard a new staff member.

This causes you to repeat things you don't need to, miss things that are absolutely essential, and make the same mistakes over and over.

So, how can you shift out of reaction mode?

In this week's podcast episode, I sit down with my friend Beth Cannon from the early childcare space to answer this question plus others about setting up functional systems in your center.

Join Beth and I for a conversation about:

• How to shift from reacting to planning
• Ways to make time to create essential systems for your school
• Why modules are better than manuals for training staff
• The benefits of establishing a teacher–mentor program

If you like what you heard from Beth in today's episode, you can find links to further connect with her on our show notes page.

Like onboarding, so many problems can be solved by taking the time to establish strategies and systems for your school. In doing so, you not only reduce your stress levels, but also make space to focus on the projects that are going to drive your school toward excellence.

I've never heard of a better win–win.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If you're looking for more strategies to apply at your center, I encourage you to attend a free virtual event hosted by The Leader's Lounge from January 13–16, 2023. There, you'll hear from me and other leaders in the early childhood education space as we discuss topics like how to create an accountable team (led by me), how to hire and retain A-players, and how to create a culture of community.

Learn more about The Leader's Lounge event here: https://leaderslounge.solutions/speakers/

Connect further with Beth Cannon here: https://bethcannonspeaks.com/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

When you're caught up in the day-to-day responsibilities of running your school, planning for the future can become the last thing on your mind.

But thinking about what comes next for your center is essential to setting goals that will help you build a school of excellence and a legacy you can be proud of.

And oftentimes, those goals involve raising funds to make those big-picture projects a reality.

If the mere mention of building an investment portfolio raises your heart rate, you're not alone. After all, most of us don't get into the early childhood education business because we have a love for finance.

Fortunately, there are things you can start doing today to begin familiarizing yourself with investing and open your mind to the possibility of raising capital for your center.

As part of a special bonus podcast series, I invited Scott Wayman from Kangarootime to chat with me about how to strategically plan for the future of your school.

Join Scott and I for a conversation about:

• Why raising funds is an important and timely topic for owners
• How we can initiate the conversation around funding in early childhood education
• How to plan for the future when you're trying to cover regular expenses
• What to consider when looking to raise funds for your school

While the thought of raising funds can be daunting, you are more than capable of taking on the challenge. What's more, by investing in your center, you'll be working to ensure that the impact on your community extends years into the future.

Connect further with Kangarootime here: https://kangarootime.com/

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Whether we like it or not, the unexpected is bound to happen.

Injuries on the playground, accidents in the classroom, and even instances of verbal or physical abuse by your own staff members can and will disrupt your school.

As much as we wish we could avoid these types of incidents, there's only so much that's within our control.

All you can do is take the proper steps to plan for them.

One of the most important actions you can take is ensuring that your center is properly insured by an agency that specializes in childcare.

As part of a special bonus podcast series, I sat down with Samantha Phillips and Chris Myers of Comploy—a Human Capital Management company—to talk about insurance and other aspects of running an early childcare business.

Join Samantha, Chris, and I for a conversation about:

• Why insurance for your early childcare business is important
• Which milestones should trigger a re-evaluation of your insurance policy
• The difference between simplifying and streamlining your business
• How to cope when you're in a state of overwhelm

Taking steps to streamline your processes and insure your business will help you prepare for the inevitable obstacles that arise in your center. That way, you'll have space to focus on your role as a visionary leader.

Connect with Comploy further here: https://www.comployhr.com/

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

We need to address the elephant in the room.

After coming out of a multi-year pandemic, we’re possibly headed into a global recession.

With what seems like global threat after global threat, it can be hard not to feel like everything is all doom and gloom.

Will there be a recession?

How severe will it be?

How long will it last?

How will it affect the ECE industry?

How will it affect my center?

How will it affect my family?

Let’s all pause and take a deep breath.

As much as the current state of the world can make us want to return to how things were before, the truth is that the future is coming whether we like it or not.

Before you get into a panic, I encourage you to turn to the data. Knowledge is power, and it’s the best tool we have to prepare for what’s coming—good or bad.

So, what do the ECE experts say?

A lot of good things!

Despite the threat of a recession, industry experts are optimistic about the future and how ECE centers can turn a difficult situation into incredible opportunities.

It all comes down to being prepared and using your discernment to make smart decisions. By taking the right steps and maintaining a growth mindset, you can still work toward the goals you have for your center—recession or not.

In this week’s podcast episode, we’re finishing up our deep dive on the 2023 ECE forecast. This time, I’m chatting with seven more industry experts:

1. Rachel Supalla
2. Vernon Mason
3. Lori Buxton
4. Beth Cannon
5. Thad Joiner
6. Brandy Woods
7. Brian & Carol Duprey

We talk about their predictions surrounding leadership, culture, and branding in 2023.

Join us for a conversation about:

• The trends they’ve been seeing within ECE centers (like the rise of “quiet quitting”)
• Their predictions for 2023, including the potential impact of the recession
• Their recommendations for how you can pursue your center’s goals no matter what 2023 holds

If there’s anything I want you to take away from this episode, it’s that you always have power over your choices. While you can’t control what’s happening in the world, you can control the decisions you make for your center. And with the right preparation, those decisions can lead to excellent outcomes.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

There’s a lot to think about for 2023, but there’s one decision I hope will be straightforward for you: attending the 2023 Summit of Excellence! This year, the event centers on building legacy through values-based leadership, which is a great continuation of our conversation about preparing for the future. Learn more here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summit

This year’s Summit is limited to members only, but that doesn’t mean you can’t join us! All you have to do is apply for our Owner’s Only HQ and Director’s Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you’ll not only benefit from the chance to attend the event, but also the support of like-minded leaders and invaluable resources you can use as you work toward building a school of excellence.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

As a leader, it’s your job to see the forest through the trees. While your staff are involved in the details of the day-to-day, you’re the one that keeps an eye on how everything fits into the bigger picture.

And that means you’ve likely noticed some things:

• You’ve had to raise your tuition rates.
• Your occupancy has fallen due to staff shortages.
• You’ve felt pressured to increase your pay rate to try to attract quality staff.
• Supply costs are higher than ever.

If any of this hits home for you, it’s because these trends are widespread across the ECE industry. They’re not in your head, and they’re happening everywhere.

How do I know?

Because industry experts have confirmed that these things are really happening based on data they’ve been collecting through years of research.

Taken at face value, these trends can generate anxiety about what’s to come and what that will mean for you and your center.

But I’ve got some good news. While experts have confirmed these worrying trends, they’re also pretty optimistic about 2023 and the level of opportunities that could be available to centers who are ready to take advantage of them.

And I’m going to give you the inside scoop on everything you need to know.

This week’s podcast episode is the first in a two-part deep dive on the 2023 ECE forecast. I talk seven industry experts about their predictions surrounding operations, financials, and marketing in 2023 and what leaders like you can do to maximize your center’s opportunities.

Join us for a conversation about:

• The trends that experts have been seeing in ECE data
• Their predictions for 2023 (Don’t worry—it’s not all doom and gloom!)
• What actions you should take to prepare for and capitalize on what’s to come

I’ve always said that seeking wise counsel is the trait of a good leader, and this is a perfect example of that in action. By listening to what the experts have to say, you can get prepared and start making strategic decisions for 2023 that will benefit your center.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Speaking of looking ahead to 2023, we still have space for you to join us at the 2023 Summit of Excellence, which centers on building legacy through values-based leadership. While the event is limited to members only, non-members can still secure their spot by applying to join our Owner’s Only HQ and Director’s Inner Circle membership programs. Visit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summit

By becoming a member, you’ll not only gain access to the event, but also invaluable tools, blueprints, strategies, and support you can leverage to continue building a culture of excellence in your school.

To connect further with the guests on this episode visit: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/ep109/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Throughout my career coaching leaders in early childhood education, I’ve worked with owners and directors at various points in their journey. So, I have firsthand knowledge of what that journey can look like and how challenging it can be.

I know that right now, you may be feeling stressed, overworked, and exhausted. Maybe you’re sick of putting out fires and dealing with staff turnover. Maybe—just maybe—you’re even thinking about throwing in the towel.

If that’s you, I hear you. Leadership is not for the faint of heart, and you’re not alone in your struggles.

Erin Owens used to be right where you are. After almost a decade as the director of Little Lambs Daycare Ministry, Erin had reached her breaking point. She was so distraught that, on most nights, she would cry herself to sleep. What’s more, she was even starting to consider a different career entirely.

But everything changed when Erin joined our Director’s Inner Circle program. The community she found through Schools of Excellence helped her better utilize the skills and tools she already had and changed the way she showed up as a leader.

As a result, Erin has built a stronger community that makes her staff want to stick around, prioritized self-care and quality time with her family, and set ambitious goals for the future of her center.

She now feels happy and fulfilled in her role—something that once seemed unattainable.

In this week’s episode of the Schools of Excellence podcast, we’re spotlighting Erin Owens and her journey from a director at her breaking point to a calm and confident leader.

Listen to my VP of Operations Michelena and Erin as they talk about:

• Erin’s challenges before joining Director’s Inner Circle
• Why the resources she tried before weren’t working
• How her mindset has impacted the culture of her center
• The joy she’s felt building a community with like-minded leaders
• Her biggest win since joining the program
• Her “earth-shaking” experience at the Summit of Excellence
• Her goals for the next five years (and how SOE can help her get there)

Despite how you may feel at times, fulfillment and legacy are within reach. All it takes is learning to leverage the skills you already have with the support of a community that’s eager to see you succeed.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Erin’s experience at the Summit of Excellence was nothing short of life-changing, and it could be for you too! Our next event in 2023 will center on building legacy through values-based leadership, covering topics like storytelling, role modeling, experiences, and the importance of routines and rituals.

Although the 2023 Summit of Excellence is limited to members only, you can participate by applying for our Owner’s Only HQ and Director’s Inner Circle membership programs. As a member, you’ll not only have the chance to attend the Summit of Excellence, but you’ll also benefit from the community, high-level coaching, and mentorship that our programs offer. Learn more about the Summit of Excellence here: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summit

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Having closed out a month of Jewish holiday celebrations in October, I find myself reflecting on how holidays do such a good job of highlighting the importance of routines, rituals, and experiences. Each of them serves a unique role in our daily lives.

A routine is a consistent, repeated action we take that helps set expectations and provide structure. For my family during the holidays, that looks like sitting down to have breakfast as a family before my husband goes to synagogue. It keeps us connected during an overwhelming time.

A ritual—while similar to a routine—is a meaningful practice that gives an action a greater sense of purpose and helps ground you in your values, such as my family gathering to light the candles on the menorah during Hanukkah. This ritual anchors us to the holiday’s values of connection and family.

Experiences are a bit different. Although routines and rituals are types of experiences, what I really mean are the formative experiences that shape who you are.

They’re a way for us to connect with those around us on a deeper level, in a way that no material item can replicate—which is why this past Hanukkah, my husband and I decided to give our kids experiences rather than gifts.

What routines, rituals, and experiences have in common is the opportunity they give us to ground ourselves in the present moment. And when we’re present, we have the chance to zero in on our values.

You can leverage this power within your center. By considering how you can anchor your routines, rituals, and experiences to the values of your school, you can nourish the connections among your team and transform the culture of your center.

In this week’s episode, I’m talking about how to utilize routines, rituals, and experiences in integrating values into the culture of your school. It’s the final part in our 3-part series on values-based leadership.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The difference between routines, rituals, and experiences
• Why rituals are critical for building culture and teaching values
• How experiences can help you nourish connections among your team
• How to choose rituals and create experiences that anchor you to your values

As we head into the final months of the year, take the time to reflect on how you can leverage the power of routines, rituals, and experiences in weaving your company values into the fibers of your school culture.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

I’ll be going into even more depth about routines, rituals, and experiences at the 2023 Summit of Excellence, which is all about building legacy through values-based leadership. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summit

Although the event is limited to members only, non-members still have time to join! If you’re interested in attending the event but aren’t yet part of our Owner’s Only HQ and Director’s Inner Circle membership programs, fill out an application today. As a member, you’ll be able to join us at the Summit of Excellence while also benefiting from the leadership support from like-minded peers who are walking the same path.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

We’ve all had role models throughout our lives, whether parents, teachers, friends, or the people we look up to from afar (like astronauts or Olympic athletes).

These people serve as examples of who we want to become, and so we absorb their behaviors and values in an effort to replicate their actions and accomplishments.

Whether they intend to or not, our role models have the power to influence us in profound ways. They can affect our mindset, our choices, and even the people we surround ourselves with.

In short, role modeling is a powerful tool for change, including in your school.

In the same way that our childhood role models once influenced us, you can influence your team and your center’s culture by using your position as a leader to model the kinds of behaviors and values you want to see.

And while this may already be something you’re doing, that doesn’t necessarily mean your team members are getting the hint.

Being a good role model yourself is only half the battle. You also need to understand how to translate this skill to your team so they can be good role models, too.

In this week’s episode, I’m diving into the topic of role modeling, the second part in our 3-part series on values-based leadership.

Join me as I talk about:

• The 6 qualities of a good role model
• The responsibilities of being a leader
• How you can become a better role model
• How to translate these qualities to your team

When you understand how to model company values through your day-to-day decisions and interactions and can translate that effectively to your team, you’ll be amazed at the cultural transformation that follows.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

This podcast reveals one of my most effective tips for helping your team become better role models, and I’ll be sharing even more strategies at the 2023 Summit of Excellence. This year, the event centers on building legacy through values-based leadership. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summit

Although the 2023 Summit of Excellence is limited to members only, it’s not too late for non-members to participate! If you’re interested in attending the event but aren’t yet part of our Owner’s Only HQ and Director’s Inner Circle membership programs, fill out an application today. As a member, you’ll not only gain access to the event, but also the supportive community, high-level coaching, and valuable mentorship that our programs have to offer.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Many of us have those “special” family stories—you know, the ones you’ve heard a million times that have been passed down from generation to generation.

For me, the one that always comes to mind is when my grandfather traveled to New York and met the Rebbe, one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century.

My grandfather was born in Russia during the communist regime, and in 1979, he and his wife fled to Israel. There, he worked three jobs just so that he could save extra money and one day go to New York to meet the Rebbe, who was instrumental in helping them escape.

After months of hard work, my grandfather had finally saved enough money and traveled to New York during the High Holidays that year.

When it finally came time for my grandfather to meet the Rebbe, the Rebbe asked him if he had bought his wife a gift. Dejectedly, my grandfather replied that he had spent all his savings to come to New York and couldn’t possibly afford to bring anything home.

Without pause, the Rebbe gave my grandfather the name of a jeweler where he could buy a gift—and when the Rebbe tells you to do something, you listen.

When he returned to Israel, my grandfather gifted my grandmother a set of precious pearls he had bought from the jeweler the Rebbe had recommended. She wore those pearls proudly until her very last day, and after she died, they were passed down to my mother.

When I was a kid, the tale of my grandfather’s journey to New York was just a story, like the ones I read in books. At the time, the only special meaning it held was that it was about my family.

It wasn’t until I became an adult that I came to realize the value in the story and why my family chose to repeat it again and again: showing love and appreciation for the ones we care for.

You see, storytelling is one of the most powerful ways to influence, teach, and inspire—not just in your family, but also your school.

When you understand how to leverage the power of storytelling, you can use the stories that happen within your school as anchors to teach values so they become woven into the fabric of your center. This will create a ripple effect that extends beyond you and your team.

It’s a tool that has the potential to impact both the culture of your center and your community in a profound way—one that no amount of training ever could.

That’s why in this week’s episode, I’m diving into storytelling and how you can leverage it in values-based leadership. It’s the first of a 3-episode series that explores how values are taught in homes and schools and how they help you build a legacy.

Join me for a conversation about:

• What makes storytelling such a powerful tool in shifting your culture
• Why values play a key role at home and school
• Translating values into decision-making
• The transition into leading from your values (HINT: It’s messy)

Each one of us has stories that paint a picture of who we are, where we come from, and where we’re going. Learn to use your school’s stories to shift the culture of your center and create a lasting impact on your community.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

We’ll be diving even deeper into the power of storytelling at the 2023 Summit of Excellence, which centers on building legacy through values-based leadership. Although this year’s summit is limited to members only, it’s not too late for non-members to participate! https://schoolsofexcellence.com/summit

If you’re interested in attending the event but aren’t yet part of our Owner’s Only HQ and Director’s Inner Circle membership programs, fill out an application today. As a member, you’ll not only have the chance to attend the Summit of Excellence, but you’ll also benefit from the community, high-level coaching, and mentorship that our programs offer.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

When it comes to the holidays, I think we’re all a little guilty of overcommitting ourselves without checking our calendars. After all, it’s hard to stay grounded in realism when you’re enveloped in the warmth and thrill of the holiday season.

Leaders, though, are especially susceptible to overcommitting. As natural visionaries and care-takers, we easily fall into the trap of thinking we can—and should—do it all.

But when you try to do it all, you end up overwhelmed and exhausted, unable to actually enjoy the holidays and all the opportunities they bring for memories, experiences, and traditions.

The truth is that time is finite. This means when you say yes to one thing, you’re simultaneously saying no to a handful of others, whether they be events, quality time with family, or self-care—which is especially important during the holidays.

The answer to making the most of the holiday season lies in planning ahead and setting boundaries around your finite and valuable time.

When you do this, you not only maintain your capacity to stay focused and attentive to the people around you, but also give yourself the space to enjoy the culture-building opportunity that the holiday season presents us.

This week’s podcast episode centers on how you can set boundaries that will prevent you from overcommitting yourself during the holiday season.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Planning ahead and prioritizing your non-negotiables
• Maintaining a balance between your work and personal task loads
• Keeping up with your self-care rituals (seriously, don’t even THINK about skipping them)
• Setting expectations and communicating them to the people that matter
• Practicing discernment during the holiday season

The holidays only come around once a year. By setting better boundaries, you’ll not only get to actually enjoy what you’ve put on the calendar, but also be present for your team, staff, and family when they need your leadership most.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Overcommitting and overworking often go hand in hand. But just as you can take steps to prevent yourself from committing to too many plans, you can take actions that will allow you to achieve your goals while still making time for yourself and your family.

Through our Ideal Week for High Achieving School Leaders workshop, you’ll learn how to clarify your priorities, set boundaries, and make a practical plan, so that you can finally make your ideal week a reality.

Learn more about the Ideal Week Workshop here: https://discovered.thrivecart.com/ideal-week/

Learn more about the Time Management Bundle here: https://discovered.thrivecart.com/accountability-bundle/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

When it comes to the holidays, I think we’re all a little guilty of overcommitting ourselves without checking our calendars. After all, it’s hard to stay grounded in realism when you’re enveloped in the warmth and thrill of the holiday season.

Leaders, though, are especially susceptible to overcommitting. As natural visionaries and care-takers, we easily fall into the trap of thinking we can—and should—do it all.

But when you try to do it all, you end up overwhelmed and exhausted, unable to actually enjoy the holidays and all the opportunities they bring for memories, experiences, and traditions.

The truth is that time is finite. This means when you say yes to one thing, you’re simultaneously saying no to a handful of others, whether they be events, quality time with family, or self-care—which is especially important during the holidays.

The answer to making the most of the holiday season lies in planning ahead and setting boundaries around your finite and valuable time.

When you do this, you not only maintain your capacity to stay focused and attentive to the people around you, but also give yourself the space to enjoy the culture-building opportunity that the holiday season presents us.

This week’s podcast episode centers on how you can set boundaries that will prevent you from overcommitting yourself during the holiday season.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Planning ahead and prioritizing your non-negotiables
• Maintaining a balance between your work and personal task loads
• Keeping up with your self-care rituals (seriously, don’t even THINK about skipping them)
• Setting expectations and communicating them to the people that matter
• Practicing discernment during the holiday season

The holidays only come around once a year. By setting better boundaries, you’ll not only get to actually enjoy what you’ve put on the calendar, but also be present for your team, staff, and family when they need your leadership most.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Overcommitting and overworking often go hand in hand. But just as you can take steps to prevent yourself from committing to too many plans, you can take actions that will allow you to achieve your goals while still making time for yourself and your family.

Through our Ideal Week for High Achieving School Leaders workshop, you’ll learn how to clarify your priorities, set boundaries, and make a practical plan, so that you can finally make your ideal week a reality.

Learn more about the Ideal Week Workshop here: https://discovered.thrivecart.com/ideal-week/

Learn more about the Time Management Bundle here: https://discovered.thrivecart.com/accountability-bundle/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

As a leader, you’re well aware that being in your position can feel extremely isolating.

At times, it can feel like you’re stranded in the middle of the ocean on an island—alone, left to your own devices, and with no one to talk to for support and guidance.

That was Sheila Smozynski’s experience as the owner of two early childhood education centers when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

COVID turned operations at Sheila’s centers upside down and inside out. Staff morale began to slip, equipment shortages threatened quality instruction in her classrooms, and she and her team were struggling to do the bare minimum just to get by.

And through it all, Sheila felt like she had no one to rely on but herself.

But everything changed when she stumbled across our Schools of Excellence podcast and learned about our Owner’s Only HQ membership program. After spending so much time in isolation, she finally felt like she had found her people.

The community Sheila found through Owner’s Only HQ not only helped her become a better leader at her centers, but also a better mom and wife at home. What began as a personal growth experience became a new way of life as the ripple effect extended to her staff, her centers, and her family.

In this week’s episode of the Schools of Excellence podcast, we’re spotlighting Sheila Smozynski and her journey from isolated leader to visionary role model.

Listen to my VP of Operations Michelina and Sheila as they talk about:

• Sheila’s struggles before joining Owner’s Only HQ
• Her experience finding a community of like-minded leaders
• What she’s learned in the program and how it’s affected her centers’ culture
• The impact of the program on both her professional and personal life
• Her goals for her centers moving forward
• Why Sheila believes you should join the program without hesitation

You don’t have to do it alone. No matter how isolating leadership may seem at times, there are people just like you who are ready and willing to support you.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Finding community as a leader and achieving the dreams you have for your center don’t have to be far-off possibilities. Just like Sheila, you can transform your school with the help of a like-minded community that will have your back every step of the way.

In the words of Sheila, don’t hesitate! Apply now for our Owner’s Only HQ or Director’s Inner Circle membership programs.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

There’s a subtle but important difference between high standards and high expectations. Contrary to how it may feel, you can maintain high standards while still having developmentally appropriate expectations for the meeting of those standards.

Let me give you an example to show you what I mean. When it comes to cleanliness standards in your center, you likely expect teachers to keep their classrooms relatively organized and sanitary for the health and safety of the children.

But if you walk into a classroom of 2-year-olds and are surprised to see toilet paper on the floor, you better check your expectations!

Maintaining high standards that align with your center’s values is important, but what’s even more essential is having appropriate expectations about how those standards will be met.

In a situation like this, you have a choice: you can either penalize the teacher for something outside of her control and risk damaging your relationship, or you can accept that making messes is young children’s M.O. and trust that she’ll clean things up when she’s able to.

When you learn to lead from this perspective, you can cultivate a healthier culture within your school, keep your teachers and staff happy, and reach new levels of excellence.

For this week’s podcast, I’m sharing a recording of an interview I was part of, where we talk about how to create culture and community in early childhood education centers.

During the interview, we touch on a variety of topics, including:

• How to set appropriate expectations for staff while maintaining high standards
• Shifting the focus from taking care of others to taking care of yourself
• Identifying what grounds you so that you make better decisions for your center
• What it’s like to work with me and Schools of Excellence

When you learn to maintain high standards that align with your center’s values while also managing your expectations, you nourish a healthy sense of community that keeps your staff happy and pushes your school toward new levels of excellence.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Have you considered learning how to cultivate your school’s community within a community of other leaders just like you? As part of our Owner’s Only HQ and Director’s Inner Circle membership programs, you’ll receive exclusive training, tools, and resources among a supportive group of owners and directors who are on similar journeys.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

There’s only so much time in the year, and most of it is already accounted for. After you add up necessary activities like eating, sleeping, and showering, you’re left with just 2,400 hours—that’s 2,400 hours that must cover everything from work projects to family time to enjoying life’s small pleasures.

So, you have to ask yourself: What are you going to do with those 2,400 hours?

To make the most of the limited hours you have and prioritize what matters most, you need to plan out how you’re going to spend your time—just like a budget.

In the same way you budget your finances, you can learn to budget your time so that every hour you spend is intentional and surprises are few and far between.

Take flu season, for example. Despite the fact that it happens each and every year, many of us are still taken by surprise and forced to dip into our margin time to make up for it.

And that makes us feel as if we don’t have enough time and energy to focus on the things that actually move us forward, like legacy projects and one-on-one time with teachers.

Learning to budget your time is a game changer, and it’s a topic I cover often in our membership programs, Owner’s Only HQ and Director’s Inner Circle.

That’s why for this week’s podcast, I’ve chosen to share a recording from one of our live calls with members. During the call, I walked them through how to strategically plan for the upcoming school year.

You’ll hear us talk about concepts like:

• Tracking how you spend your time
• Taking inventory of your commitments in and outside of school
• Choosing what to prioritize and what to delegate
• Mapping out the school year on your calendar

My hope is that by sharing this call with you, you’ll not only pick up some valuable strategic planning tools, but also get a glimpse into what our membership programs look like in action.

Through calls just like these, we provide owners and directors with exclusive training and coaching, as well as a powerful community of support, that guide them through every stage of growth and development as they build and sustain schools of excellence.

If after listening to the podcast, you’re interested in getting this kind of support, I encourage you to apply to our Owner’s Only HQ and Director’s Inner Circle programs

I’m confident this episode will offer you new insights, a fresh perspective on planning, and the confidence to head into the new school year knowing that you’ve got everything under control.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Learning how to role model these skills for your staff is no easy task, but it’s well worth the effort. Join our Owner’s Only HQ or Director’s Inner Circle programs to get support and strategies from like-minded leaders like you who are experiencing the same challenges. Their stores and insights can guide you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

While strategic planning is a valuable strategy, it’s just one of many tools you can learn to implement that will elevate your capacity and skills as a leader. For additional resources related to having difficult conversations, managing to-do lists, dealing with parent-teacher conferences, and more, check out:

School Leadership Toolkit https://discovered.thrivecart.com/school-leadership-tool-kit/

Ultimate Teacher Training Vault https://discovered.thrivecart.com/the-ultimate-teacher-training-vault/

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

This is a special live-recorded episode to celebrate our 100th episode!

Being a leader is hard. It requires you to exercise new skills, make tough decisions, and have difficult conversations on a daily basis.

Periods of transition can be especially difficult. Whether it’s starting a new school year, training new teachers, or implementing a new routine, some days can feel—quite literally—painful.

And in these times of great discomfort, it’s not easy to remain consistent in working toward your goals. Exhaustion sets in, motivation wanes, and you find yourself questioning if all this effort is really worth it.

But there’s some good news and it’s important to keep in mind.

It’s all temporary.

“Nothing lasts forever” may be a cliché, but it’s valuable wisdom that growth-minded leaders know to be true. They know at their core that the discomfort and pain that come with learning a new skill or making a difficult decision are temporary.

That said, developing this growth mindset takes a lot of practice and guidance.

On this episode, I chat with you about what I call the 3 M’s: Maintenance, Motivation, and Mindset. These three factors are not only essential to your success as a leader, but also the stability and security of your team.

By mastering the 3 M’s, you’ll never have to worry about being thrown completely off course. No matter what difficulties you encounter, you’ll be able to weather the storm and lead your team to safety.

Join me for a conversation about:

• Focusing on maintenance and a growth mindset to reach your goals
• Setting very specific goals
• Dealing with waning motivation
• Maintaining the right anchors and habits to stay focused and consistent
• Understanding your mental capacity and timing (also, finding out if your timing is off)
• Ensuring your “why” is big enough

Join our private Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolsofexcellencelounge

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Learning how to role model these skills for your staff is no easy task, but it’s well worth the effort. Join our Owner’s Only HQ or Director’s Inner Circle programs to get support and strategies from like-minded leaders like you who are experiencing the same challenges. Their stores and insights can guide you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Everyone experiences a variety of emotions throughout the day. Whether it’s anxiety before a dentist appointment, excitement when we find $20 in our pocket, or disappointment when our favorite coffee cup breaks, emotions come and go—and it’s entirely normal.

There’s no such thing as a good or bad emotion. They’re just feelings that come and go like clouds passing in the sky.

But for some people, emotions aren’t always just clouds—they’re storms that ravage the land, causing destruction in their wake.

When people experience emotions more intensely and frequently than normal, to the detriment of their relationships with others, it means they struggle with what’s called emotional regulation.

Emotional regulation is the ability to control your emotional state. It’s understanding that emotions impact behavior and then taking the appropriate action to alter the intensity of your emotional experience.

So, when a teacher shows up late, someone who practices good emotional regulation would recognize the anger that arises and let it pass before it negatively affects the way they respond.

On the other hand, someone who struggles with emotional regulation might become consumed by the anger and take their emotions out on the teacher, potentially damaging the goodwill between them.

As a leader, you’ve probably seen your fair share of instances like these. And maybe you’ve felt frustrated by someone’s inability to keep their emotions in check and simply follow the protocol.

The problem is, an SOP can’t change the way a person’s nervous system has been trained to react in tense situations.

So, what can you do to help your staff better regulate their emotions and transform your center’s culture?

In this week’s podcast episode, we’ll explore the answer to that very question. The final part of my B.R.I.D.G.E. series focuses on the skills and strategies you need to help your staff master emotional regulation.

Join me for a conversation about:

• What emotional regulation is
• Why people lose control of their emotions
• How emotional regulation impacts performance and work culture
• The 5 skills for mastering emotional regulation
• How to identify and reduce triggers

With lots of practice and proper modeling, you can show your staff how to control their own emotional state, improve the culture of your center, and create generational impact and legacy.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Learning how to role model these skills for your staff is no easy task, but it’s well worth the effort. Join our Owner’s Only HQ or Director’s Inner Circle programs to get support and strategies from like-minded leaders like you who are experiencing the same challenges. Their stores and insights can guide you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Everyone experiences a variety of emotions throughout the day. Whether it’s anxiety before a dentist appointment, excitement when we find $20 in our pocket, or disappointment when our favorite coffee cup breaks, emotions come and go—and it’s entirely normal.

There’s no such thing as a good or bad emotion. They’re just feelings that come and go like clouds passing in the sky.

But for some people, emotions aren’t always just clouds—they’re storms that ravage the land, causing destruction in their wake.

When people experience emotions more intensely and frequently than normal, to the detriment of their relationships with others, it means they struggle with what’s called emotional regulation.

Emotional regulation is the ability to control your emotional state. It’s understanding that emotions impact behavior and then taking the appropriate action to alter the intensity of your emotional experience.

So, when a teacher shows up late, someone who practices good emotional regulation would recognize the anger that arises and let it pass before it negatively affects the way they respond.

On the other hand, someone who struggles with emotional regulation might become consumed by the anger and take their emotions out on the teacher, potentially damaging the goodwill between them.

As a leader, you’ve probably seen your fair share of instances like these. And maybe you’ve felt frustrated by someone’s inability to keep their emotions in check and simply follow the protocol.

The problem is, an SOP can’t change the way a person’s nervous system has been trained to react in tense situations.

So, what can you do to help your staff better regulate their emotions and transform your center’s culture?

In this week’s podcast episode, we’ll explore the answer to that very question. The final part of my B.R.I.D.G.E. series focuses on the skills and strategies you need to help your staff master emotional regulation.

Join me for a conversation about:

• What emotional regulation is
• Why people lose control of their emotions
• How emotional regulation impacts performance and work culture
• The 5 skills for mastering emotional regulation
• How to identify and reduce triggers

With lots of practice and proper modeling, you can show your staff how to control their own emotional state, improve the culture of your center, and create generational impact and legacy.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Learning how to role model these skills for your staff is no easy task, but it’s well worth the effort. Join our Owner’s Only HQ or Director’s Inner Circle programs to get support and strategies from like-minded leaders like you who are experiencing the same challenges. Their stores and insights can guide you as you work toward building a school of excellence.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

What does it mean to be generous?

Oftentimes the first thing people think of is financial generosity. They believe that to be a generous leader, they need to focus on philanthropy.

But while financial generosity is a type of generosity, it’s certainly not the only one. Sharing your knowledge, time, and resources is generous too, and the things you choose to share say a lot about who you are.

Unfortunately, though, our education system teaches people that the way to get ahead is to leave others behind. Instead of pooling our assets to benefit the community, we’re taught to work in stingy isolation to climb the ladder of success.

This sets a precedent that leaves leaders wary of generosity before they even step into the role. They unknowingly shut down their capacity for generosity, become overly critical of themselves and others, and have a hard time forgiving mistakes.

While this mindset can bring you some success, it’s not the most effective way to move forward—let alone build a legacy.

To be the type of leader who sustains a school of excellence, you need to build a culture of generosity at your center.

So, what exactly does that look like?

Let me explain using a parenting example (because they so often lend themselves to matters of school leadership).

Let’s say that you buy your child that Nintendo (That’s a thing, right?) they’ve been going on and on about. You bring it home, set it up in the living room, and leave him or her to play alone.

Is that what would happen in your household?

Consider this for a moment: What would happen if it didn’t stop there? What if by giving some of your time, you used it as an opportunity to connect on a deeper level and strengthen your relationship by playing together?

That is generosity.

And by cultivating a culture of generosity at your center, you can experience the same kind of beneficial connection between you and your staff.

This week’s podcast, the fifth of my B.R.I.D.G.E. series about developing critical meta-skills as a 21st century leader, will explore how to practice generosity in your center.

Join me as we talk about:

• The benefits of generosity
• How to be a more generous leader
• The “generous silence” and resisting the temptation to fix
• The difference between generosity and neglect
• Questions you can use to reflect on your own generosity

Let me leave you with one of my favorite quotes by the late designer Zeev Aram: “I’ve never found that my own light has been dimmed by lighting someone else’s candle.”

In other words, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by becoming a more generous leader.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If you’re looking for inspiration in practicing your own generosity, I encourage you to check out our Owner's Only HQ or Director's Inner Circle programs. These groups are made up of leaders just like you who see the value in sharing their insight, advice, and feedback with others.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

What does it mean to be generous?

Oftentimes the first thing people think of is financial generosity. They believe that to be a generous leader, they need to focus on philanthropy.

But while financial generosity is a type of generosity, it’s certainly not the only one. Sharing your knowledge, time, and resources is generous too, and the things you choose to share say a lot about who you are.

Unfortunately, though, our education system teaches people that the way to get ahead is to leave others behind. Instead of pooling our assets to benefit the community, we’re taught to work in stingy isolation to climb the ladder of success.

This sets a precedent that leaves leaders wary of generosity before they even step into the role. They unknowingly shut down their capacity for generosity, become overly critical of themselves and others, and have a hard time forgiving mistakes.

While this mindset can bring you some success, it’s not the most effective way to move forward—let alone build a legacy.

To be the type of leader who sustains a school of excellence, you need to build a culture of generosity at your center.

So, what exactly does that look like?

Let me explain using a parenting example (because they so often lend themselves to matters of school leadership).

Let’s say that you buy your child that Nintendo (That’s a thing, right?) they’ve been going on and on about. You bring it home, set it up in the living room, and leave him or her to play alone.

Is that what would happen in your household?

Consider this for a moment: What would happen if it didn’t stop there? What if by giving some of your time, you used it as an opportunity to connect on a deeper level and strengthen your relationship by playing together?

That is generosity.

And by cultivating a culture of generosity at your center, you can experience the same kind of beneficial connection between you and your staff.

This week’s podcast, the fifth of my B.R.I.D.G.E. series about developing critical meta-skills as a 21st century leader, will explore how to practice generosity in your center.

Join me as we talk about:

• The benefits of generosity
• How to be a more generous leader
• The “generous silence” and resisting the temptation to fix
• The difference between generosity and neglect
• Questions you can use to reflect on your own generosity

Let me leave you with one of my favorite quotes by the late designer Zeev Aram: “I’ve never found that my own light has been dimmed by lighting someone else’s candle.”

In other words, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by becoming a more generous leader.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

If you’re looking for inspiration in practicing your own generosity, I encourage you to check out our Owner's Only HQ or Director's Inner Circle programs. These groups are made up of leaders just like you who see the value in sharing their insight, advice, and feedback with others.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

One of the most important skills I help owners and directors develop is discernment.

But…what exactly does that mean?

Let me give you an example: Two different patients go to the doctor with a headache. One of the patients is suffering from a hangover, and the other has a brain aneurysm.

How does the doctor properly diagnose and treat each patient?

Discernment!

Discernment is all about getting to the heart of the matter and understanding what lies below the surface so that you can come up with the right solution.

To diagnose their patients, doctors accumulate years of practice, learn from their mistakes, and avoid black-and-white thinking.

You and your staff can do the same.

When a situation arises in your center—like a teacher quitting on the spot—it can be easy to flounder in the chaos that ensues. Where’s the SOP for that?

But when you know how to ask the right questions, see past the surface, and consider the big picture, you can be an effective leader regardless of the scenario.

Discernment is like a muscle—to make it stronger, you need to use it! And the more you practice discernment, the smoother decision-making in your center will become.

This week, we’re diving into the fourth component of my B.R.I.D.G.E series on the six meta-skills you need as a 21st century leader: discernment.

Join me for a conversation about:

• What makes a discerning leader
• What questions you should ask to become a more discerning leader
• How to grow your discernment muscle (HINT: It’s something kids do)

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: You can’t SOP your way out of everything. No matter how great your systems and processes are, you’ll still have conflict and issues. But if you focus on training your discernment muscle, you’ll be prepared to make informed and wise decisions—no matter the situation.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

As you’ll learn in the podcast episode, one important part of becoming a discerning leader is knowing when and where to seek wise counsel. By joining our Owner's Only HQ or Director's Inner Circle programs, you’ll have access to a welcoming community of peer school leaders who can share their real-world experience and advice, whenever you need.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

One of the most important skills I help owners and directors develop is discernment.

But…what exactly does that mean?

Let me give you an example: Two different patients go to the doctor with a headache. One of the patients is suffering from a hangover, and the other has a brain aneurysm.

How does the doctor properly diagnose and treat each patient?

Discernment!

Discernment is all about getting to the heart of the matter and understanding what lies below the surface so that you can come up with the right solution.

To diagnose their patients, doctors accumulate years of practice, learn from their mistakes, and avoid black-and-white thinking.

You and your staff can do the same.

When a situation arises in your center—like a teacher quitting on the spot—it can be easy to flounder in the chaos that ensues. Where’s the SOP for that?

But when you know how to ask the right questions, see past the surface, and consider the big picture, you can be an effective leader regardless of the scenario.

Discernment is like a muscle—to make it stronger, you need to use it! And the more you practice discernment, the smoother decision-making in your center will become.

This week, we’re diving into the fourth component of my B.R.I.D.G.E series on the six meta-skills you need as a 21st century leader: discernment.

Join me for a conversation about:

• What makes a discerning leader
• What questions you should ask to become a more discerning leader
• How to grow your discernment muscle (HINT: It’s something kids do)

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: You can’t SOP your way out of everything. No matter how great your systems and processes are, you’ll still have conflict and issues. But if you focus on training your discernment muscle, you’ll be prepared to make informed and wise decisions—no matter the situation.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

As you’ll learn in the podcast episode, one important part of becoming a discerning leader is knowing when and where to seek wise counsel. By joining our Owner's Only HQ or Director's Inner Circle programs, you’ll have access to a welcoming community of peer school leaders who can share their real-world experience and advice, whenever you need.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Some of my biggest coaching Aha! moments happen when I talk to my kids.

Earlier this summer, my son came to my husband with a question that was bothering him. His friend hadn’t been accepted into summer camp, and he wanted to understand why.

My husband answered that, unfortunately, our son’s friend didn’t have anyone to advocate for him.

“What does it mean to ‘advocate’ for someone?” he asked.

My husband explained that advocating for someone helps them get the things they need, usually because they’re unable to do so on their own. It can look like talking to a teacher about homework, buying supplies for a school project, or—in the case of my son’s friend—applying for summer camp.

Without intending to, my husband had provided a crystal clear example of how children differ from adults when it comes to advocacy.

When kids are still growing and learning, they need parents or other adults to advocate for them. Without this support, they can’t get what they need, because they don’t yet have the tools to do so on their own.

But adults are different. Although they may still be growing and learning, adults are capable of accessing the skills and resources necessary to advocate for themselves and others…even if it takes some practice.

That goes for your staff, too.

When you’re running around giving your time and energy to solving all the problems throughout your center, it may feel like you’re doing a good thing—after all, you’ve got the answers and want to keep people happy!

But the reality is that this causes two major issues:

• Leader burnout: Giving 100% of yourself with the expectation that it will make everyone happy and keep them at your center isn’t generosity—it’s emotional horse trading, and it’s exhausting.
• Hindered development: Solving others’ problems for them robs them of the opportunity for self-development, which prevents growth in your center.

In this week’s episode, which is the third of my B.R.I.D.G.E. series about developing critical meta-skills as a 21st century leader, we’re talking all about individual advocacy and how it can transform your center.

By practicing your own advocacy skills and modeling them for your staff, you’ll help them learn to communicate their own needs, solve problems on their own, and develop stronger relationships amongst themselves.

This is a conversation about:

• What individual advocacy looks like
• Why it’s an important meta-skill
• The benefits of helping your staff learn to self-advocate

At the end of the day, YOU are your greatest advocate. With individual advocacy skills, both you and your staff will be more self-aware, balanced, and able to handle whatever life throws at you—whether there’s an SOP in place or not.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Take your first step in practicing self-advocacy by joining our Owner’s Only HQ or Director’s Inner Circle programs. There, you’ll connect with a community of fellow school leaders who have valuable stories, insights, advice, and feedback to offer you as you build your school of excellence.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

One of the hallmarks of a great leader is how you understand and respond to emotions, and, then in turn, how that understanding helps you cultivate relationships.

Have you ever encountered these kinds of scenarios with your leadership team after staff meetings and retreats?

• Someone on your leadership team was too afraid to mention something they didn’t agree with.
• Some members had questions but felt too intimidated to ask them.
• Someone with a dissenting opinion buried it because they didn't want to “rock the boat.”

If so, you’re not alone. These are common and challenging scenarios. I know because I’m coaching members in my Owner's HQ or Director's Inner Circle programs who are facing them right now.

And I’m sure you’ve experienced at least one with your own leadership team.

When your team reacts with feelings of fear, intimidation, and withdrawal, there’s a larger issue going on.

It usually means your team doesn’t feel enough trust or connection with you and the rest of the team to say what’s really on their minds.

As the school leader, improving this begins with practicing a meta-skill I call relational intelligence.

Relational intelligence refers to your ability to connect with others, understand their emotions, and ultimately form relationships. Relationally intelligent people recognize body language, have the ability to be vulnerable, and are unafraid of difficult conversations.

In the stressful, emotionally-charged environments within early childhood centers, relational intelligence is an incredibly important meta-skill for you to have and to model for your team. It’s the second meta-skill of the six I’m introducing in my latest podcast series on the B.R.I.D.G.E. Concept.

You’ll want to make time for this week’s podcast episode if you’re looking to initiate productive conversations with your leadership team, break down silos, and encourage effective teamwork.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The importance of reflecting on your own relational intelligence skills
• Creating a leadership team based on trust, connection, and vulnerability
• Questions to ask your team to get them to open up and be honest with you
• The difference between professional relationships and dysfunctional codependency

You’ll get clear on how to use relational intelligence to encourage your leadership team to share information freely, experiment with new ideas, and think outside the box.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

As a school leader, you must first be in tune with yourself before your leadership team can be in tune with their own emotions, feelings, and needs. This kind of inner work is challenging, and you’ll likely have questions along the way.

Right now there’s a group of like-minded school leaders grappling with this very same meta-skill. You can connect with them and find support inside our Owner's HQ or Director's Inner Circle programs.

Together, you’ll work on relational intelligence as well as the other five meta-skills you need to build and sustain your school of excellence.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

One of the hallmarks of a great leader is how you understand and respond to emotions, and, then in turn, how that understanding helps you cultivate relationships.

Have you ever encountered these kinds of scenarios with your leadership team after staff meetings and retreats?

• Someone on your leadership team was too afraid to mention something they didn’t agree with.
• Some members had questions but felt too intimidated to ask them.
• Someone with a dissenting opinion buried it because they didn't want to “rock the boat.”

If so, you’re not alone. These are common and challenging scenarios. I know because I’m coaching members in my Owner's HQ or Director's Inner Circle programs who are facing them right now.

And I’m sure you’ve experienced at least one with your own leadership team.

When your team reacts with feelings of fear, intimidation, and withdrawal, there’s a larger issue going on.

It usually means your team doesn’t feel enough trust or connection with you and the rest of the team to say what’s really on their minds.

As the school leader, improving this begins with practicing a meta-skill I call relational intelligence.

Relational intelligence refers to your ability to connect with others, understand their emotions, and ultimately form relationships. Relationally intelligent people recognize body language, have the ability to be vulnerable, and are unafraid of difficult conversations.

In the stressful, emotionally-charged environments within early childhood centers, relational intelligence is an incredibly important meta-skill for you to have and to model for your team. It’s the second meta-skill of the six I’m introducing in my latest podcast series on the B.R.I.D.G.E. Concept.

You’ll want to make time for this week’s podcast episode if you’re looking to initiate productive conversations with your leadership team, break down silos, and encourage effective teamwork.

Join me for a conversation about:

• The importance of reflecting on your own relational intelligence skills
• Creating a leadership team based on trust, connection, and vulnerability
• Questions to ask your team to get them to open up and be honest with you
• The difference between professional relationships and dysfunctional codependency

You’ll get clear on how to use relational intelligence to encourage your leadership team to share information freely, experiment with new ideas, and think outside the box.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

As a school leader, you must first be in tune with yourself before your leadership team can be in tune with their own emotions, feelings, and needs. This kind of inner work is challenging, and you’ll likely have questions along the way.

Right now there’s a group of like-minded school leaders grappling with this very same meta-skill. You can connect with them and find support inside our Owner's HQ or Director's Inner Circle programs.

Together, you’ll work on relational intelligence as well as the other five meta-skills you need to build and sustain your school of excellence.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Starting off the new school year on the right note will set up your school for excellence. As a school leader, the last thing you’d want is overloading your staff with content, hence the reason why you need to break it down into segments. And the segments are divided based on how the brain processes information.

In today’s episode, I share a segment of training that took place inside our Director’s Inner Circle & Owner's HQ flagship program. I created this training to teach our members how they can lead and prepare for their first staff meeting. And as our amazing podcast listeners, we are sharing this section as a special gift to you!

Tune in to learn more about:

• How to lead your first staff meeting.
• What to talk about during your first staff meeting.
• How to divide the time blocks during your meeting.
• Some of the exercises to do and the questions to ask your teams.
• Staff meeting headline ideas and tips for choosing them.
• How to tell if you and your team are getting results and growing your mindset
• Why you should be specific about the kind of results you are after as the school leader.
• Ideas for helping your staff lean on each other.
• And how to wrap up your staff meeting.

Sign up for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner's HQ chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show: If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day that impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Recently, I was reflecting on my parenting style and how it’s evolved over time.

As much as we think we’ll parent in our own unique way once we have little ones, we often do things just like our parents.

Can you relate?

There was a time, as a new mother, when I used blame and shame just as my parents had to set boundaries with me and my siblings.

I used their approach on my own children because I had weak boundaries at that time. This approach is effective for controlling little ones, but it doesn’t produce responsible, happy children with high self-esteem.

Eventually two things happened:

• I became more self-aware of my boundary setting style, and
• I learned healthier boundaries.

Eventually, I replaced blame and shame with peace and confidence to set healthy boundaries.

This has made all the difference with my children, improving my relationship with each of them. It’s also helped me professionally as an executive director who was responsible for a leadership team.

If you’ve been struggling with setting clear boundaries inside your center—with other leaders, teachers, or even parents, this is the podcast episode for you.

It’s the second episode in my new B.R.I.D.G.E. series that’s all about helping you gain the critical meta-skills you need as a 21st-century school leader.

This week’s focus is on raising awareness of boundary setting styles in order to help you develop healthy boundaries within your center.

Join me for a conversation about:

• How and why you need to overcome rigid black-and-white thinking
• The different types of boundary setting styles and why yours may not be working
• Trading ineffective boundary setting styles for ones that are both assertive and respectful

It’s your turn to stop setting boundaries from a place of anger, blame, excuses, or apologies and start practicing them from a place of calm, confidence, peace, and serenity.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

The truth is, you’ll never fully master boundaries. No one ever does, especially because boundaries can change depending on the season of your life. But here’s the good news: Schools of Excellence can help you strengthen your boundary-setting muscles.

I invite you to take a closer look at our Owner's HQ or Director's Inner Circle programs, where you’ll connect with a welcoming community of peer school leaders who can share their real-world experience with setting boundaries in their early childcare center and so much more.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

As a school leader, you’re likely a pro at creating systems, processes, and checklists.

You’ve trained your leadership team on them so things run more smoothly at your center—both inside and outside of the classroom.

With these resources in place, you’re prepared for the school year and your team has what they need to handle issues that arise with students, parents, and co-teachers.

Or so you think. But it’s actually more complicated than that.

Yes, systems, processes, and checklists are all important and necessary, but they aren’t the be-all and end-all in your center. They don’t guarantee that things will run smoothly day in and day out.

No matter how detailed your operational resources are—and I’m sure yours are very thorough, {{ subscriber.first_name }}!—there will always be confusing, ambiguous, or uncomfortable moments at your center that weren't covered in your training.

What will your team do then? How will they respond?

In order to handle confusion, ambiguity, and discomfort, you and your leadership team need a special set of 6 meta-skills.

They’re actually SUPER skills to help you lean into uncomfortable situations and make decisions more calmly and with greater confidence.

The 6 meta-skills I’m teaching over the next 6 weeks form an acronym, B.R.I.D.G.E., and they include:

• Boundaries
• Relational Intelligence
• Individual Advocacy
• Discernment
• Generosity
• Emotional Regulation

In many ways, these meta-skills are more important to running a center than technical skills. And, as the school leader, you must develop and practice these skills. They’re required to build and sustain your own school of excellence.

This week on the podcast, you’ll get a special introduction to the 6 meta-skills that make up the B.R.I.D.G.E. They’re the same skills I’m teaching in my members-only Owner’s HQ and Director’s Inner Circle programs.

There’s so much to explore around these meta-skills that I’ve also decided to dedicate an entire podcast episode to each one. I want to help you gain the skills that I believe are absolutely essential for 21st-century school leaders like you.

Join me as I introduce the B.R.I.D.G.E. concept and break down how you can:

• Examine and start to overcome your own all-or-nothing thinking
• Connect more effectively and establish trust with your team (Hint: It’s not the same thing as emotional intelligence)
• Overcome feelings of stress and overwhelm to reach your goals
• Learn to anticipate what’s coming next and make wise decisions
• Resist the temptation to step in and fix things at your center (This one’s the hardest!)
• Respond to stressful events in a rational, regulated way

It’s time to put your systems, processes, and checklists down for a moment and focus on how you can be more intentional about how you show up and approach school leadership. I’ll be here every step of the way to support you on that journey.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Communicating with parents can be challenging, but you can still find joy and celebration in your work. If you’re ready to learn more, this might be the right time to join our Owner's HQ Program or Director's Inner Circle. Inside you’ll find the support you need to do hard things and a community of like-minded school leaders to share in your wins along the way.

Other Resources:

School leadership is always demanding—even more so at the start of the school year. You’re challenged to give extra support to your team, your staff, and your school community.

Now it’s time that you received the support you need. We’ve compiled a series of resources to help you as a school leader. Learn more about our School Leadership Tool Kit here.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

This week I'm sharing a new 3-episode podcast series, How to Prepare for the New School Year, to give you strategies for navigating the first few weeks and months of the academic year. You'll learn how to take better care of yourself, your team, and your school community.

We'll explore the importance of prioritizing your daily routines to stay grounded and finding greater peace during the chaos of the new school year. We'll also take a look at the special kinds of activities that require everyone's full attention this time of year.

One of the greatest joys of working with children is watching their precious faces light up as they grow and learn with their peers.

But it's not always discoveries, breakthroughs, and camaraderie.

Each September, as the new school year kicks off, your staff doesn't need a new checklist from you. Instead, they need you present both mentally and emotionally. And they need to see you modeling how to ride the waves of discomfort, chaos, and uncertainty that inevitably rise up.

And it doesn't stop there.

As a leader at the start of the school year, you must manage your own emotions and use discernment to handle each new situation—each parent question, each new hire training, each crying child.

The good news, is you don't have to do it alone.

Join me for a 3-part conversation about:

• Practicing and cherishing the meaningful daily habits, or "anchors," in your life

• Overcoming perfectionism to find greater creativity and innovation

• Relaxing expectations and appreciating what's "good enough" for this time of year

• Supporting staff and admin at the start of the new school year (Hint: It has nothing to do with creating another checklist!)

• Re-assessing when to turn your attention back to other projects at your school

This series will remind you of the importance of self-care, offer up proven leadership strategies, and help you prioritize what matters most in September.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Communicating with parents can be challenging, but you can still find joy and celebration in your work. If you’re ready to learn more, this might be the right time to join our Owner's HQ Program or Director's Inner Circle. Inside you’ll find the support you need to do hard things and a community of like-minded school leaders to share in your wins along the way.

Other Resources:

School leadership is always demanding—even more so at the start of the school year. You’re challenged to give extra support to your team, your staff, and your school community.

Now it’s time that you received the support you need. We’ve compiled a series of resources to help you as a school leader. Learn more about our School Leadership Tool Kit here.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

This week I'm sharing a new 3-episode podcast series, How to Prepare for the New School Year, to give you strategies for navigating the first few weeks and months of the academic year. You'll learn how to take better care of yourself, your team, and your school community.

We'll explore the importance of prioritizing your daily routines to stay grounded and finding greater peace during the chaos of the new school year. We'll also take a look at the special kinds of activities that require everyone's full attention this time of year.

One of the greatest joys of working with children is watching their precious faces light up as they grow and learn with their peers.

But it's not always discoveries, breakthroughs, and camaraderie.

Each September, as the new school year kicks off, your staff doesn't need a new checklist from you. Instead, they need you present both mentally and emotionally. And they need to see you modeling how to ride the waves of discomfort, chaos, and uncertainty that inevitably rise up.

And it doesn't stop there.

As a leader at the start of the school year, you must manage your own emotions and use discernment to handle each new situation—each parent question, each new hire training, each crying child.

The good news, is you don't have to do it alone.

Join me for a 3-part conversation about:

• Practicing and cherishing the meaningful daily habits, or "anchors," in your life

• Overcoming perfectionism to find greater creativity and innovation

• Relaxing expectations and appreciating what's "good enough" for this time of year

• Supporting staff and admin at the start of the new school year (Hint: It has nothing to do with creating another checklist!)

• Re-assessing when to turn your attention back to other projects at your school

This series will remind you of the importance of self-care, offer up proven leadership strategies, and help you prioritize what matters most in September.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Communicating with parents can be challenging, but you can still find joy and celebration in your work. If you’re ready to learn more, this might be the right time to join our Owner's HQ Program or Director's Inner Circle. Inside you’ll find the support you need to do hard things and a community of like-minded school leaders to share in your wins along the way.

Other Resources:

School leadership is always demanding—even more so at the start of the school year. You’re challenged to give extra support to your team, your staff, and your school community.

Now it’s time that you received the support you need. We’ve compiled a series of resources to help you as a school leader. Learn more about our School Leadership Tool Kit here.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

This week I'm sharing a new 3-episode podcast series, How to Prepare for the New School Year, to give you strategies for navigating the first few weeks and months of the academic year. You'll learn how to take better care of yourself, your team, and your school community.

We'll explore the importance of prioritizing your daily routines to stay grounded and finding greater peace during the chaos of the new school year. We'll also take a look at the special kinds of activities that require everyone's full attention this time of year.

One of the greatest joys of working with children is watching their precious faces light up as they grow and learn with their peers.

But it's not always discoveries, breakthroughs, and camaraderie.

Each September, as the new school year kicks off, your staff doesn't need a new checklist from you. Instead, they need you present both mentally and emotionally. And they need to see you modeling how to ride the waves of discomfort, chaos, and uncertainty that inevitably rise up.

And it doesn't stop there.

As a leader at the start of the school year, you must manage your own emotions and use discernment to handle each new situation—each parent question, each new hire training, each crying child.

The good news, is you don't have to do it alone.

Join me for a 3-part conversation about:

• Practicing and cherishing the meaningful daily habits, or "anchors," in your life

• Overcoming perfectionism to find greater creativity and innovation

• Relaxing expectations and appreciating what's "good enough" for this time of year

• Supporting staff and admin at the start of the new school year (Hint: It has nothing to do with creating another checklist!)

• Re-assessing when to turn your attention back to other projects at your school

This series will remind you of the importance of self-care, offer up proven leadership strategies, and help you prioritize what matters most in September.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Communicating with parents can be challenging, but you can still find joy and celebration in your work. If you’re ready to learn more, this might be the right time to join our Owner's HQ Program or Director's Inner Circle. Inside you’ll find the support you need to do hard things and a community of like-minded school leaders to share in your wins along the way.

Other Resources:

School leadership is always demanding—even more so at the start of the school year. You’re challenged to give extra support to your team, your staff, and your school community.

Now it’s time that you received the support you need. We’ve compiled a series of resources to help you as a school leader. Learn more about our School Leadership Tool Kit here.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

This week on the podcast, I talk with Dr. Sherry Walling about how to find wholeness after loss and the ways you can support your team to overcome grief. You’ll learn how to offer connection and provide a glimmer of hope in the midst of sadness.

With Rosh Hashanah right around the corner, I’ve been thinking about some of my family’s cherished High Holiday rituals.

We light candles while reciting meaningful prayers. We savor challah bread dipped in honey. We try out new activities.

These treasured rituals bring us together to celebrate the New Year and create a special sense of connection among my family.

Rituals have the power to ground us during holiday celebrations.

But rituals aren’t just for celebration. They can also serve us when we’re experiencing grief and loss.

Rituals are a powerful tool that can bring you peace and help you navigate a loss—either a personal one or a collective loss experienced by your school community.

Whether it’s the death of a colleague or saying goodbye to a favorite family who’s leaving your school, you can create a special ritual to honor them and acknowledge that they will no longer be present at your center.

It’s so important to acknowledge any loss because avoiding it will only cause more shame and suffering for everyone.

As the school leader, you play a key role in helping your staff navigate the inevitable ups and downs of your center. And I want to support you in that journey.

We’ll also take a look at the importance of understanding your own capacity to listen. You’ll learn when and how to defer a conversation to another time when you can be completely present and listen fully.

Join us for a conversation about:

• Understanding why avoiding the loss is worse than confronting it
• Recognizing the importance of rituals and traditions in overcoming grief
• Redefining what it means to be present when you’re grappling with a loss
• Knowing when and how to share access to mental health resources

If you need ideas for creating a safe space that will invite your school community to share their stories of loss, you won’t want to miss this episode.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

School leaders like you will always be challenged to model healthy behaviors for your staff. It’s not easy, but it's possible—especially when you have a community of like-minded leaders and directors to lean on.

If you’re ready to connect with a community of your peers who know what it’s like to lead early childcare centers, this might be the right time to join our Owner's HQ or Director's Inner Circle programs. Inside you’ll find the support and guidance you need to grow as a school leader.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Are you prioritizing your mental wellbeing?

If you’re anything like the many directors and owners I’ve worked with, your answer probably depends entirely on the season.

Student enrollment? Staff hiring?

“Forget about it, Chanie.”

I know—I understand how it goes. When we’re caught up in a constant state of hypervigilance, we find it diffucult to slow down, rest, and take in life’s little pleasures.

For me, I experience this struggle more than ever when I’m out in nature with my family.

Instead of taking in the sights, breathing the fresh air, and appreciating the small moment of peace, I’m worrying about which of my kids needs to eat and whether I packed the sunscreen.

But as I’m sure you realize, it’s when you’re busiest that you need to focus the most on your mental wellbeing.

This week’s podcast dives into the topic of learning how to prioritize your mental wellbeing.

In this special bonus episode, I sit down with members of our Director's Inner Circle & Owner's HQ to find out where they’re struggling and offer strategies for bringing more mindfulness into their lives.

We talk about:

• The connection between fear and control
• How trauma affects your present reactions
• Avenues for regaining composure under high anxiety and stress
• …and more!

When you learn to prioritize your own mental wellbeing, the benefits don’t stop with you. By changing the way you operate during stressful seasons, you transform the way you show up for your staff and your school.

This creates a positive ripple effect throughout your school culture, impacting not only the commitment, accountability, and loyalty of your teachers and staff, but also the quality of your partnerships with parents.

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Creating a school of excellence starts with you. To support you on this journey, we’ve compiled a series of resources aimed at helping you be the most effective leader you can be. Learn more about our School Leadership Tool Kit here: https://discovered.thrivecart.com/school-leadership-tool-kit/

The Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ is the #1 community & training program specifically designed for early childhood school leaders and owners who are committed to building schools of excellence. You get 24/7 access to exclusive templates & training to help you motivate your staff and build a collaborative culture that positively impacts the lives of children. Plus the support & accountability you need to create massive momentum.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Has a difficult conversation with someone at your school ever left you feeling guilty?

Me too.

I can recall times when the guilt was so intense that I just couldn’t shake it.

As a school leader, you can’t avoid difficult conversations.

Whether it’s with teachers who aren’t getting along, admin staff falling short of their performance goals, or something else, avoiding the problem is worse than confronting it.

When those conversations get uncomfortable or don’t go well, it’s so easy to take it personally and feel isolated—as if you’re the only school leader out there who can’t hold your staff accountable and handle difficult situations.

That’s when guilt creeps in, with shame and self-criticism following right behind.

These feelings will only drain you emotionally, lead to burnout, and stifle your ability to navigate through the kinds of challenges you’re bound to face.

That’s not what I want for you.

You deserve support to let go of those feelings. It will take time, but it's possible—especially when you have a community to lean on.

With the power of community, you will be supported by a powerful grounding force. An aligned community can relate to your challenges, elevate your mindset, and show you grace when you fail.

With the right community, you can trade isolation for belonging and anxiety for peace.

You’ll be able to handle the challenges and tolerate the discomfort that inevitably comes with school leadership. You’ll become a more resilient and empathetic leader, too.

This week I’m opening up a conversation about how to overcome the challenges of leading a team with three incredible school directors and owners—all of whom are members of our Owner's HQ or Director's Inner Circle programs.

In the third and final episode of my podcast series, You Are Not the Only One, we’ll explore how being part of a like-minded community can help you show up differently as a leader and transform the culture of your center.

This is a conversation about:

• Navigating tough situations with the staff at your school
• Overcoming perfectionism and the urge to people-please
• Trading self-reliance for a genuine community of belonging
• Surrounding yourself with people who can remind you of your greatness

This episode is for you if you need help with difficult conversations at your center and are looking for ideas for approaching them more boldly, honestly, and confidently.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Communicating with parents can be challenging, but you can still find joy and celebration in your work. If you’re ready to learn more, this might be the right time to join our Owner's HQ Program or Director's Inner Circle. Inside you’ll find the support you need to do hard things and a community of like-minded school leaders to share in your wins along the way.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

As a mom of four, it often feels like I’m supposed to have all the answers.

Whether it’s a homework problem, an argument with a friend, or making the monster under the bed go away, my kids trust that I’ll know exactly what to do.

When people look to you as a leader, it’s easy to put pressure on yourself to get it right every time. You may even fear that getting it wrong could have disastrous consequences.

But in reality, decision-making is a skill that you build over time.

And that means two things:

The first is that you’re going to make mistakes. Trust me, I know—I make them all the time!

But the second is that, like any skill, there are things you can do to become a better decision maker and show up for your team in a more impactful way.

In this week’s bonus podcast episode, I explore different ways you can learn to make better decisions, so you can continue building a school of excellence.

We’ll talk about:

• How the way you frame problems affects your decisions
• Why you shouldn’t rush into decisions
• The power of reflecting on your choices
• The benefit of seeking wise counsel

Becoming a better decision maker isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about learning the strategies that will lead you to make more informed decisions.

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Decision-making and other types of mindset development are something that everyone on your team can benefit from. Help teachers think about their work in a new way with our Reflective Questions for Teachers: https://discovered.thrivecart.com/reflective-questions-for-teachers/

The Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ is the #1 community & training program specifically designed for early childhood school leaders and owners who are committed to building schools of excellence. You get 24/7 access to exclusive templates & training to help you motivate your staff and build a collaborative culture that positively impacts the lives of children. Plus the support & accountability you need to create massive momentum.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

How do you respond to difficult situations with parents?

I know many resourceful school leaders just like you who Google solutions. But this approach is limited by what you can find on your own, and there’s always some trial-and-error involved with going it alone.

When I need new ideas and solutions, I prefer to lean into the power of community. Instead of going it alone, I ask, “Who can help me?”

It’s not always easy to ask for help, but it’s worth it.

Seeking community opens me up to broader support to navigate difficult situations. Plus, I gain insight from wider perspectives—including people who have gone before me.

I want you to have community support too, [FIRST NAME GOES HERE]. You need it to build a school of excellence. And in this current “cancel culture” society, community is more important than ever.

This week I’m opening up a conversation with two school leaders about creating a safe space to talk about anything with parents.

In the second episode of my new podcast series, You Are Not the Only One, we’ll explore how you can speak up to guide parents, share your center’s values, and communicate the unique vision you have for your school.

This is a conversation about:

• Overcoming self-criticism and the urge to self-censor
• Navigating tough situations with parents
• Leaning on a community of like-minded school leaders

If you’re looking for support to navigate tough conversations and uphold your school’s values, you won’t want to miss this episode.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

Communicating with parents can be challenging, but you can still find joy and celebration in your work. If you’re ready to learn more, this might be the right time to join our Owner's HQ Program or Director's Inner Circle. Inside you’ll find the support you need to do hard things and a community of like-minded school leaders to share in your wins along the way.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

There are few things more heartwarming than seeing a child beam with confidence after overcoming a challenge.

You can see the shift happen almost instantly—their eyes light up, they smile widely, and they stand just a little bit taller.

It’s as if they believe that from that moment forward, they can do anything they set their mind to.

Whether a child in the classroom or a staff member on your team, the key to building a person’s confidence is showing them that they’re capable of doing hard things.

In this week’s bonus podcast episode, I provide several tips to help you start creating and nurturing a confident team.

We’ll talk about:

• My go-to strategy for encouraging independent decision-making
• Why you should start talking less (counterintuitive, I know!)
• The role of gratitude
• The best confidence shortcuts (HINT: There aren’t any!)

It’s time to start nurturing your staff’s confidence, so you can build a team that wants to stick around for the long-term.

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

P.S. I dive even further into nurturing confidence in my 90-minute, on-demand Confidence & Resiliency training, which shows school leaders how to support their staff and build cultures of excellence. You can learn more here: https://discovered.thrivecart.com/confidence-resiliency-training/

The Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ is the #1 community & training program specifically designed for early childhood school leaders and owners who are committed to building schools of excellence. You get 24/7 access to exclusive templates & training to help you motivate your staff and build a collaborative culture that positively impacts the lives of children. Plus the support & accountability you need to create massive momentum.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

As a leader, you need to learn how to separate yourself from your team. Because if you try to stay at the same level as your teachers or the other staff, your business will implode.

In this special three-part series titled You Are Not the Only One, we open the closed doors to real stories of real people so we can start to normalize the struggle, the joy, the grief, and the milestones of what it takes to build a school of excellence. I hope that through this series, you'll be able to release some of the shame and guilt that you have associated with leadership. I hope that you can laugh and connect, and find relevance in some of the similar challenges.

Links mentioned:

The Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ is the #1 community & training program specifically designed for early childhood school leaders and owners who are committed to building schools of excellence. You get 24/7 access to exclusive templates & training to help you motivate your staff and build a collaborative culture that positively impacts the lives of children. Plus the support & accountability you need to create massive momentum.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

It’s lonely at the top. PERIOD. But thankfully, you no longer have to go it alone. We’ve compiled a series of resources to shorten the learning curve and support you on your leadership journey. Learn more about our School Leadership Tool Kit here.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

When was the last time you felt truly seen?

I’m talking about the type of connection where you feel heard, validated, and unafraid of being judged—where you feel safe enough to be fully vulnerable.

For me, it was when I met up with my friend from high school during a conference in Dallas. We rented an Airbnb, ordered takeout, and hung out just like the old days.

We spent 18 hours in that Airbnb, but only 5 of them were spent sleeping. For the other 13, we connected on a level that had me opening up about things I hadn’t talked about in more than a decade.

Why? Because I trusted that not only could I be honest with her, but she would also be honest with me.

Having relationships that are mutually vulnerable is essential to developing self-awareness, which is a core component of building schools of excellence.

In this week’s bonus podcast episode, I offer a series of tactical tips for building self-awareness for yourself and your staff.

These are the same strategies I use with members inside my Director's Inner Circle & Owner's HQ, where school leaders learn how to support their staff and build cultures of excellence.

In addition to the impact of genuine friendships, this episode covers:

• The importance of knowing your priorities
• Why you should get comfortable with receiving feedback
• Self-awareness as a skill (that takes lots and lots of practice!)

When you increase your capacity for looking inward, you create a ripple effect of change outward. And that is the mark of an effective school leader.

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

While self-awareness is an important aspect of school leadership, it’s not the only one! Check out our Time Management and Accountability Bundle to improve your time management skills and learn how to hold staff and parents accountable.

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Today’s episode will help enlighten you on planning the school year with discernment and wise decision-making filters. Because if we don't filter, everything becomes important, we then lack focus, and it's difficult to plan and be prepared. This invites chaos, uncertainty, and a lot of ambiguity into the day or year and doesn't allow us to follow through and be accountable. Understanding your business objectives, setting clear financial goals, investigating the impulse of projects and stress testing the calendar for this upcoming school year will certainly put you in good form throughout the school year.

Tune in to learn more about:

• Understanding the business objectives
• Setting clear financial goals
• Auditing your expenses
• Defining and scoping projects
• Stress testing the calendar

…and so much more!

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Join the conversation in our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolsofexcellencelounge

To download the worksheet, and PDF to guide you through the whole process of planning the new school year with wise decision-making filters HERE.

The Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ is the #1 community & training program specifically designed for early childhood school leaders and owners who are committed to building schools of excellence. You get 24/7 access to exclusive templates & training to help you motivate your staff and build a collaborative culture that positively impacts the lives of children. Plus the support & accountability you need to create massive momentum.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

This episode is from a live training where I share with you an interesting topic of the paradox of self-reliance and community.

Full schedules are not full lives. As leaders, we have to recognize that no one is coming to check on us or manage our workload. When we are stuck in our stories, our minds are trying to protect us and the ego wants to make our story unique to us; nobody has this level of difficulty. We need to lean on a community and realize that we are not alone, but we also need to know how to rely on ourselves.

Schools that stand the test of time are those that can evolve and reinvent themselves, and self-reliance and community are integral pieces to the long-term sustainability of your school.

Tune in to learn more about:

• Thinking independently and embracing your individuality
• Why self-reliance and community are integral pieces to the sustainability of your school
• How to create a community of self-reliance with your team
• Coaching the concept of self-reliance and building community
• Difference between being needy and asking for support

…and so much more!

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Join the conversation in our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolsofexcellencelounge

I invite all of you interested in leaning into the community to our owner's group, our legacy mastermind for our highest tier of owners:

http://chanie.me/jointhedic

The Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ is the #1 community & training program specifically designed for early childhood school leaders and owners who are committed to building schools of excellence. You get 24/7 access to exclusive templates & training to help you motivate your staff and build a collaborative culture that positively impacts the lives of children. Plus the support & accountability you need to create massive momentum.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

In today's episode, I share a compelling practice of self-love and self-recognition; writing a letter of gratitude to yourself. Writing this letter to yourself is a radical opportunity to pause and appreciate who you are and where you've been while providing inspiration for your next stage of growth. Gratitude is a huge part of the School of Excellence Framework and as a director or owner, it is important that you realize that it is very different from gratitude for others. When we show ourselves gratitude, we give ourselves permission to reflect on and accept everything that we've been through.

In a nutshell, I talk about:

• Why it is important to show gratitude to yourself, for things that you have done or have to do
• Leaning into your emotions, fully expressing them to get space for other beautiful emotions
• The 6 incredible steps on how to write a gratitude letter to your former self

…and so much more!

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Access the free resource to write your letter of gratitude and appreciation here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IjWtyucqwAyXRGYHy8bLwnsPn9wBoGEv/view?usp=sharing

Join the conversation in our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolsofexcellencelounge

The Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ is the #1 community & training program specifically designed for early childhood school leaders and owners who are committed to building schools of excellence. You get 24/7 access to exclusive templates & training to help you motivate your staff and build a collaborative culture that positively impacts the lives of children. Plus the support & accountability you need to create massive momentum.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

In this episode, we dive into how you can help your staff to start thinking of the big picture by understanding the bigger context.

Seeing the big picture, getting into the details, seeing the details, and connecting it all back to the bigger picture can be a beautiful dance. Helping teachers to start thinking about the big picture is essential because that is how you create a consistent alignment that is connected with your company’s mission and culture.

Tune in to learn more about:

• Intentional time blocking within staff meetings for the big picture
• Unshackling yourself from assumptions and biases, and inviting new ideas
• Strategies to get teachers to start thinking in alignment with the big picture (especially if they're nervous to share their ideas)
• Why our teams need to start thinking about the big picture and linking it with their daily habits

…and so much more!

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Access the free resource to help your staff think big picture here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SHOM_54mOs0_3MIIrnrrUOn080HAgsId/view

Want your staff to be more confident? Grab the Confidence and Resiliency Training here: https://discovered.thrivecart.com/confidence-resiliency-training/

Ever wish you knew EXACTLY what to say to a Teacher, Parent, or Admin Team in a Hard Moment? You can now with the Scripts Workbook here: https://discovered.thrivecart.com/script-workbook/

The Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ is the #1 community & training program specifically designed for early childhood school leaders and owners who are committed to building schools of excellence. You get 24/7 access to exclusive templates & training to help you motivate your staff and build a collaborative culture that positively impacts the lives of children. Plus the support & accountability you need to create massive momentum.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

May is an incredible time for reflection regardless of whether you run a 10-month or a 12-month academic school year. End-of-year reflections serve two important purposes - a gauge for determining how we can continuously improve on our processes and a reminder of the kind of mistakes we've made so that we can avoid making them in the subsequent years. The only way to have awareness of how far you've come is by being reflective of what you've done in the past academic year.

In today's, from the archive, episode, I will take you through how to run an end-of-the-year staff meeting. I share with you some of the critical questions you should ask your staff, and how to use their feedback as a resource for future improvement. If you've been wanting to know how schools of excellence conduct their end-year staff meetings and why these meetings are usually very productive, this episode is for you!

Remember, part of being an educator and building a school of excellence is wanting to consistently get better. And understanding how to wrap up the year really well is important in ensuring that your September is set up for success.

In a nutshell, I speak about:

• The 3 reasons why an end-year review is so critical for your staff.
• The top 5 questions you need to ask at your end-year staff meetings.
• How to deduce meaningful information from the responses your staff give to the questions you ask.
• Strategies for helping your teachers own their development, become more accountable and believe that they have what it takes to teach in a school of excellence.

...and so much more!

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Access the End of Year Reflective Questions Workbook for $9 HERE

Access the School of Excellence Time Management Bundle for $47 HERE

More about the show: If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and a beautiful quality of life.

View Details

This is part 2 of this exclusive inside look at a members-only call on Priorities Reset: Reflect, Restore and Recast. In today's episode, we're digging into the third phase of the priorities reset call, where we recast our commitments into a real calendar and decide what we want to invite back and what we can eliminate.

We share insights into the habits that we need to stop doing, besides checking emails, but to stop the thoughts in our minds that are not serving us, that are being toxic for our life, our relationships, and the goals that we want to hit in our life.

What do you want to invite back into your life and what will you no longer be doing? What do you want your new priorities to be? What habit do you want to stop doing and what will be the reminders to stop this habit?

In a nutshell, we talk about:

• What you are no longer doing for the next 90 days.

• An insight on the physical things you need to stop doing and thinking about

• Choosing what makes sense for you and what makes sense as your next step.

• The transforming leadership drill of accountability

• Stress testing your commitments
• Opening a brand new Google Calendar and then start recasting your school commitments

…and so much more!

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

The Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ is the #1 community & training program specifically designed for early childhood school leaders and owners who are committed to building schools of excellence. You get 24/7 access to exclusive templates & training to help you motivate your staff and build a collaborative culture that positively impacts the lives of children. Plus the support & accountability you need to create massive momentum.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

This episode is an inside look at a members-only call on Priorities Reset. This session is divided into three core parts; reflect, restore and recast. In part 1, we are going to reflect on our last 90 days and then restore ourselves to what our current priorities are. Part 2 will look at the commitments we'll recast in our next 90 days.

20% of your time (and your budget), is your margin. And margins aren't created by default - you have to be honest, give yourself grace and create one. As a school director, it's all about setting the right practices. What story is your calendar telling you? You need to reflect on your commitments, restore yourself in their alignment, and recast into a life that you want for yourself.

In a nutshell, we talk about:

• How you can filter where your time should go
• Current commitments that you can completely let go off
• Becoming aware of invisible labor by taking an inventory of your commitment

…and so much more!

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

The Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ is the #1 community & training program specifically designed for early childhood school leaders and owners who are committed to building schools of excellence. You get 24/7 access to exclusive templates & training to help you motivate your staff and build a collaborative culture that positively impacts the lives of children. Plus the support & accountability you need to create massive momentum.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Welcome to the final part, part 4, of the Build to Last workshop series. From improving our mindsets and inviting calm to learning about theme days, time blocking, and calendar creation to our previous episode: building a culture of excellence, it has been a transformational experience.

In today's episode, I share tips on inner team conflicts and understanding how to navigate these conflicts. As directors and owners, we spend an average of 4 hours a day fielding interruptions and navigating conflicts with teachers. How do we understand, show up and navigate conflict while discerning that different types of conflict require different solutions without getting overwhelmed?

In a nutshell, we talk about:

• Types of interchain conflict and understanding how to navigate them
• How to hold your staff accountable without being overwhelmed
• Avoiding hints and encouraging the use of direct, clear, and kind approaches to conflict resolution
• The 6 key performance assessments
• How to show up in difficult conversations
• Important strategies for navigating conflicts with confidence and grace
• More about our flagship programs the Director’s Inner Circle & Owners Only HQ

…and so much more!

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Download the workbook here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mzS7qxZksrvGkDlAI7ji58nPwakPEZlk/view?usp=sharing

To get 40 other scripts in our scripts workbook: http://chanie.me/scripts

The Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ is the #1 community & training program specifically designed for early childhood school leaders and owners who are committed to building schools of excellence. You get 24/7 access to exclusive templates & training to help you motivate your staff and build a collaborative culture that positively impacts the lives of children. Plus the support & accountability you need to create massive momentum.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Gratitude and appreciation need to be a habit - a constant in your life. And having a week in a year that is focused on key stakeholders that drive success in your school, is really special. It shows that you value them, and reinforces a culture you'd want to see in a school of excellence.

While we may not remember every single detail of what happens in our lives, we will always remember specific moments of experiences. In this week’s episode, I share ideas on how you can make your teachers feel valued and appreciated this Teachers Appreciation Week. Tune in and get ideas on how you can be intentional with your appreciation this coming week!

In a nutshell, I speak about:

1. Why I love teacher appreciation week so much, and its similarities with mothers day
2. Why your calendar is part of your identity
3. The 3 things that teachers need now more than ever
4. The 5 questions you should ask yourself before choosing any fun or creative ideas

No matter the situation your school is in right now, there is still room to be creative. As you think about all the work you will be doing in order to make this week special for your teachers, what moments do you hope stays in their brains forever?

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Get your FREE workbook for the Teacher Appreciation Week HERE.

Sign up for the Ideal Week for High Achieving Owners Workshop HERE.

This workshop is ideal for you if you are looking to:

• Know what the next stage of growth looks like for your school
• Learn how to build out a calendar that serves your lifestyle and stage of life that you're in
• Identify the top priorities that you need to focus on to move your school in the right direction
• Learn what is working for other high achieving school owners in their stage of growth in the season that they're in right now
• Stop doing diffuse energy in a bunch of different directions that aren’t moving your school forward

Sign up for the Ideal Week for High Achieving Owners Workshop HERE.

If you are ready to take your school to the next level of growth and are looking for support, community and accountability to make that happen - then would love for you to apply for our directors inner circle or owners HQ program.

Apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner's HQ

More about the show: If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and a beautiful quality of life.

View Details

Welcome to part 3 of the 4-part series, the Build to Last workshop series. During each episode in this series, we’re going to be digging into specific areas that will uplevel and give you the confidence, decision-making skills, and practical strategies and mindsets for your center from the field of play.

In today's episode, I'm joined by Sara Schreiner and Susan Sholar, members of our inner circle who are from Sunshine Academy in Montana. They share with us their specific habits and routines of how they built a culture of excellence. As a school owner or director, understanding that school culture is not a project but an effect of your daily behavior, actions, and routines is a salient leadership drill. The strategies that work today, don't necessarily work tomorrow, so you need to constantly work on your culture. The moment you turn away from this foundational skill, your school becomes toxic, there's gossip, there's backtalk, there's complacency, and there's resistance.

In a nutshell, we talk about:

• The foundation of building a beautiful culture of excellence
• Why culture is an effect of the leader's daily routine, behavior, and actions
• Showing up as the leader - the habits you need to adapt to create this amazing culture
• The culture of innovation and risk-taking - how you feel, and what you need to hear to know that you have achieved it
• Culture revolving around values, difficult conversations, and boundary setting
• The biggest challenge school leaders have about their culture
• Today's challenge: the Gratitude challenge!

…and so much more!

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Download the workbook to get tons of resources and 10 freeways on how to build a culture of excellence here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mzS7qxZksrvGkDlAI7ji58nPwakPEZlk/view?usp=sharing

The Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ is the #1 community & training program specifically designed for early childhood school leaders and owners who are committed to building schools of excellence. You get 24/7 access to exclusive templates & training to help you motivate your staff and build a collaborative culture that positively impacts the lives of children. Plus the support & accountability you need to create massive momentum.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Welcome to part 2 of the 4-part series, the Build to Last workshop series. During each episode in this series, we’re going to be digging into specific areas that will uplevel and give you the confidence, decision-making skills, and practical strategies and mindsets for your center from the field of play.

In today's episode, I'm joined by Jo David, a director who is a member of the Director’s Inner Circle and is a time blocking practitioner. Jo shares with us strategies of how to work on calendars that serve us. As leaders, understanding where our time goes is a sensitive leadership drill and when we believe that we must always be available, we underperform, we over-index, we get overwhelmed, and we feel stressed out. Stay tuned for a mind-boggling session as we discuss stimulating information on building a calendar that serves us and helps us to design priorities that we need to continue building our legacy with our school culture.

In a nutshell, we talk about:

• The 3 myths of the school leaders' time - why they're myths and busting them
• Drafting out your theme days
• Unmuting rejection to unmute helping hands
• The skill of time blocking and theme days
• Delegating out things that aren't helping your center
• Investing time to train your staff to avoid survival mode

…and so much more!

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Download the Build to Last workbook here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mzS7qxZksrvGkDlAI7ji58nPwakPEZlk/view?usp=sharing

The Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ is the #1 community & training program specifically designed for early childhood school leaders and owners who are committed to building schools of excellence. You get 24/7 access to exclusive templates & training to help you motivate your staff and build a collaborative culture that positively impacts the lives of children. Plus the support & accountability you need to create massive momentum.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

Welcome to part 1 of the 4-part series, the Build to Last workshop. Every single week, over the next four weeks, we're going to be digging into specific areas that will uplevel and give you the confidence, the decision-making skills, and practical strategies for your center.

In this episode, I am joined by Sharon Hopson. She is the owner of the Bella Vita Montessori in Omaha, Nebraska. We share tips on understanding what you tell yourself, the thoughts that you believe in, and how these create your reality. As a school director, equipping yourself with the pragmatic leadership drills we walk through today will help you uplevel your mindset, and get better, smarter, faster, stronger, and wiser. With a positive mindset, you can acknowledge and tackle every challenge without it affecting your own mental and emotional well-being, your staff, or the school's culture.

In a nutshell, we talk about

• Leveling up your mindset and approaching things with positivity
• How to manage your time more efficiently
• Creating, embracing, and practicing your boundaries and knowing when to violate them
• Releasing stress and inviting calm and rest
• Inviting someone into what you are thinking, given that you are not a machine and can't do everything by yourself

…and so much more!

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

The Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ is the #1 community & training program specifically designed for early childhood school leaders and owners who are committed to building schools of excellence

You get 24/7 access to exclusive templates & training to help you motivate your staff and build a collaborative culture that positively impacts the lives of children.

Plus the support & accountability you need to create massive momentum.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner's HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

We all need a sense of belonging. And when new teachers come in, they come with this innate human need to belong to a community. So how do you, as a school leader, facilitate this?

In this episode, I share tips on how you can create a culture of belonging at your school. Remember, just because your new teachers are on the payroll, and they have a spot in the teacher's room, doesn't mean they belong. They are still trying to fit in. Connecting them with people who've walked this path before will create a culture that will look dramatically different. Because creating a culture of belonging is powerful. This all begins with mentoring your veteran staff.

In a nutshell, I talk about:

• How to design an environment where both veteran and new teachers are part of leveling up and raising the bar of excellence within the organization.
• The 4 common struggles that new staff have.
• Strategies on how your veteran staff can model and create a community for new staff.

… and so much more!

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

The Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ are the #1 community & training programs specifically designed for early childhood school leaders and owners who are committed to building schools of excellence

You get 24/7 access to exclusive templates & training to help you motivate your staff and build a collaborative culture that positively impacts the lives of children.

Plus the support & accountability you need to create massive momentum.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner's HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and a beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make everyday which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve everyday.

View Details

It’s the 1 year anniversary of the Schools of Excellence podcast! What a perfect time to reflect on how far this show has come, because this is a huge milestone at the Schools of Excellence. We just wrapped and returned from the Summit of Excellence which was held at the beginning of March. As I unpack and process everything that happened over the 2-day in-person event, I find myself reflecting and am so grateful for so many of the things that happened at the event. This inspired me further to make this episode where I can officially celebrate the achievement of the 1st anniversary of the podcast.

In today's episode, I talk about:

• The initial drive as to why I started the Schools of Excellence podcast a year ago.
• Insights into how I create the show's content and choose the topics I talk about.
• The growth we've seen in the show over the last year.
• How and why we need to celebrate milestones.
• Some of our goals as we enter the second year of the Schools of Excellence podcast.

... and so much more!

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

The Director’s Inner Circle & Owner’s HQ are the #1 community & training programs specifically designed for early childhood school leaders and owners who are committed to building schools of excellence

You get 24/7 access to exclusive templates & training to help you motivate your staff and build a collaborative culture that positively impacts the lives of children.

Plus the support & accountability you need to create massive momentum.

Learn more and apply for the Director’s Inner Circle & Owner's HQ: http://Chanie.me/jointhedic

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and a beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make everyday which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve everyday.

View Details

You pride yourself on how freely your staff can come to talk to you, right? As a school leader, you always want to be seen as an approachable and available director or owner that makes your staff feel heard.

The “open door policy” has trickled into our school culture, because we think that it makes our staff feel valued and appreciated since they know they can come to talk to us at any time, for anything.

In corporate, the open door policy means that all employees can bring their concerns, desires, or problems to company leaders at any time. This was intended to show that the leaders and executives care about what their employees have to say.

The intention here is GREAT. The end result isn’t

• You want to be available and approachable.
• You want your staff to feel heard and seen.
• You want your teachers to feel appreciated and valued.

But know this: “The leader who is always available, isn’t truly listening.”

This podcast episode is a reair of one of the first and most important topics where I speak about:

• The myth of the open door policy
• How the application of this myth is likely to negatively impact your school
• What you should be doing instead

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Access the School of Excellence Time Management Bundle for only $47 here: http://chanie.me/time

Access the Scripts Workbook here: https://discovered.thrivecart.com/script-workbook/

Download the free door sign here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IXZpXOMoNNnedkkUyfAZWSoLIfBkGtFt/view?usp=sharing

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and a beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

This is a re-air of one of the most downloaded episodes in my special summer series that originally aired last year. I wanted to bring this back for those who are newer listeners.

This summer series was all about the different ways that you can prepare yourselves for an upcoming school year. After nearly two decades in this field and speaking with hundreds of school owners and directors. There are very specific patterns of behavior I have noticed in successful school leaders.

In this episode, I share the top 5 signs of a thriving school leader and how you can incorporate them as you continue to build your school of excellence and leave your legacy.

In a nutshell, I speak about:

• Communication and how a thriving leader is one that builds time into their calendar to speak to their teams.
• The importance of celebrating wins and success even though it is very easy to get pulled into hardships and what is and isn't working.
• The biggest mindset shift that school leaders need to make by investing in their people.
• How strategy can be likened to planning a trip and how it plays a key role in successful school leadership.
• How radical self-awareness will change your entire life.

… and so much more!

To listen to the other episodes in the 2021 Summer Series listen to episodes #39 - #44.

Resources and links mentioned in this episode:

Access the Reflective Questions Workbook for only $9 here: http://chanie.me/reflectivequestions

More about the show:

If you are an Early Childhood director or owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 little kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies – equipping you to build schools with higher staff retention, teacher motivation, parent partnership, collaborative culture, and a beautiful quality of life.

Every week, Chanie shares the truth about the journey to excellence, the strategies that are working TODAY, and the mindset about the critical decisions and choices that you make every day which impact yourself, your teachers, parents, family, and children who you serve every day.

View Details

This is a re-air of one of our most downloaded episodes in the Schools of Excellence Podcast. As one of the first episodes I ever released, I wanted to bring this back for those who are newer listeners. I hope you enjoy and get value out of this episode. Like it or not, schools are home to a number of difficult conversations. Discussing topics such as...

1. Pay and benefits
2. Inappropriate behavior
3. Underperformance

These can be uncomfortable. But having successful one-on-one conversations is what separates great school leaders from ineffective ones. Difficult conversations may not be fun, but school leaders who navigate them successfully can build stronger relationships with their staff and provide needed guidance and correction on workplace performance or behavior - which fosters staff engagement.

Today’s episode is on one of the four shields of difficult conversations: Blame. As a leader, it is your responsibility to take note of when your team is using these shields and take the necessary steps towards having those difficult conversations. It is only by doing this that your team will feel heard, supported, and held accountable.

In this episode, I talk about...

• The concept of self-protection and how it shows up in our day-to-day life.
• The 3 strategies for removing blame from your school’s culture.
• The questions to ask yourself when your staff start blaming each other
• Identifying the 4 shields that school leaders and teachers bring up in conversations when difficult conversations come up

When there is blame, there is no learning. You can create a friendly school environment for your staff to thrive where finger-pointing won’t become the name of the game.

To listen to the other episodes in the Difficult Conversations series listen to episodes 15, 18 & 20.

Resources and links mentioned in this episode: