SPEAKER_03 0:00

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 0:24

All right. Welcome back to season two, gentlemen.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

It's good to be back.

SPEAKER_02 0:29

Michael, you thought that we'd be canceled by now. I know.

SPEAKER_01 0:33

I thought for sure. You know. They they they brought us back. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 0:37

Yes, yes. So how was your summer?

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Guys, it was great. You know, it was it was busy. I mean, I think y'all are aware our our job. This is in HR, this is our Super Bowl season. Um, and you know, we hired a lot of great people here in GCISD and and super excited about the 26-27 school year. And and I did something this year, this summer, that I've never done before. And I took an extra week off this summer.

SPEAKER_00 1:04

Good for you. Yes. All right.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Well deserved. We spent uh spent a week in Alabama and uh down on the in Dolphin Island, which I love, and then um took a week, had two daughters that graduated, one from college, one from high school, and we did a trip down to Plymouth Harris.

SPEAKER_00 1:19

Do a little fishing?

SPEAKER_01 1:20

We did, we did, yeah, yeah, limited on trout, and just it was great. Just got a chance to relax and uh you know get focused on the next year.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

What about you, Crono? Uh the first half of the summer I did a lot of coaching baseball, you know, and again, like you, you know, the the work schedule, we kind of work a lot through the summer. It's not as busy for us as HR necessarily because y'all are y'all are you know bringing in the whole crew for the for the next year, but a lot of PD planning and stuff like that, a lot of coaching baseball on the weekends. At the end, we did get out of town. We went to Barbados and uh had never been there before, and so that was a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

Would you go back?

SPEAKER_00 1:54

Good place? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Just a lot of really I I saw probably the pool um and the swim bar more than some of the other parts of the resort. That's all right. But uh no, it was a blast. We had a great time, great meals, you know, great friends that we got to hang out with, so it was a lot of fun. Dr. G?

SPEAKER_02 2:10

Yeah, I took a trip out to California to visit my oldest son, yeah, and uh his wife and my two granddaughters, so spent about a week there with my youngest son as well. So got a chance to relax. And coming up right uh on August 31st, I am going to Spain.

SPEAKER_00 2:27

Oh, Espana.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

Yeah, how long are you gonna be in Spain? About 14 days. Wow. The life of a retired educator.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

You're gonna go bike the mountains?

SPEAKER_02 2:38

I'm not gonna go bike the mountains, but I plan on seeing a stage of the Vuelta a Espana, which is the Spanish version of the Tour de France. Okay. And so uh that'll be the second grand tour that I've attended, and hopefully in the future sometime, God willing, I'll go to Italy and look at all three for the grand tour. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

The three major ones right there.

SPEAKER_02 3:00

That's right. Okay, yep. Our uh shows will still come on. Some of our introductions may seem a little bit standard because I may not be here to record them, but uh just know that we will still be here. We have a great season planned out this year, so I think uh our listeners are going to be very informed on entertained and entertained on education in general.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

So welcome back for season two. Let's get going. Welcome back, and uh, we are starting off season two with a big hit, gentlemen. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 3:40

Yeah, I remember us talking about it uh during season one about how can we start season two on a bang. And uh I know we met and said, well, what if we had new administrators who just completed their first year?

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Yeah, you know, we we talked a lot last uh year about different leadership, and we wanted to talk to a brand new principal, someone who just completed their first year as a principal, and really just get their perspective on things that they learned, kind of aha moments, etc. So joining us today, a very, very special guest, uh, one of our phenomenal elementary principals, Miss Brooke Teeter Stokes. Brooke?

SPEAKER_04 4:25

Hey guys, thank you for having me today.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

Welcome aboard. Fresh out of the fire. Yeah, you're alive. You're okay. You made it. All right.

SPEAKER_04 4:32

And I'm coming back for year two.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

Well, let's go. Congratulations on that. So, you know, Brooke, one of the things we always like to do with our guest on here uh for our listeners, just give a little bit of background, you know, how you came sitting in the principal chair.

SPEAKER_04 4:47

Okay, thank you. I was a teacher for 10 years. I my major was in elementary education. So the dream was second grade elementary school teacher. I taught fifth grade, but I also had a love for coaching. So I had the opportunity to move up to the middle school. And so I taught for seven years at the middle school level, and so a total of 10 years teaching. And then I moved to the learning liaison role at my same campus for two years. And then an opportunity happened that I did not expect. And one of my dear friends and mentors asked me to be her assistant principal. She was moving into the principal role, got to pick her assistant principal, and she wanted me to move with her, but it was in another district. And I am from GCISD. This is where I went to school, this is where I live. My child goes to school. So it was a big question for me. And I met with Jamie Halliburton, who I know y'all have heard about before. And she was like, okay, let's apply, let's work on your resume, let's practice. And so I moved over to South Lake Carroll for a year. And when I was going over there, I met with our then superintendent at the time and with tears, telling Dr. Ryan, I don't want to leave. I love it here. I don't want you to think I don't love it here. And he said, I left and I came back. I know you'll come back. So I um went to Dawson Middle School for a year, where I was an assistant principal. And then I had the opportunity to come work with Dr. Fingers at Grapevine High School, where he was my former principal at Cross Timbers. So I got to come home and was at Grapevine High School for two years as an administrator. And then I had the opportunity to become the principal at Greatvine Elementary School. And so I have the unique experience of being at all different levels.

SPEAKER_01 6:25

That's what I was just gonna say. Yeah, you've kind of seen the where they start, you know, the pre-K kids all the way up making that transition to middle school and then that transition to high school. Man, that's a phenomenal perspective. One full year completed in the principal chair. Yes. Excellent.

SPEAKER_00 6:41

Congratulations on that. And you're someone that knew early on you wanted to be in education. So all the way through, that was your major. Uh that was there a teacher that inspired you? How did that come about?

SPEAKER_04 6:49

Uh, so I my teacher, Miss Lynn, in second grade, is who really inspired me. But then I, when I came to Colleville Heritage High School, I had a teacher named Coach Ford, Tim Ford, and he is my all-time, all-time favorite teacher. I actually ran into him at Slick City a few weeks ago and got to tell him to his face, thank you. And that he was one of my favorite teachers. And he taught science, which was not my favorite subject at all. But I just loved how he built relationships and he believed in kids and he inspired me.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

He was one of my football coaches coming through, and uh his son Ty was on our football team. Actually, his older son was on our team too, but Ty was in my grade, and so yeah, I have known him for many, many years. I know he's inspired a lot of people.

SPEAKER_02 7:31

You know, I think GCISD is probably rich in Kevin Bacon's six degrees of the city. Yeah, no, right.

SPEAKER_01 7:39

Probably not even six degrees, honestly. So, you know, Brooke, one of the things that we often ask guests is is as you're thinking of just leadership in general, um, what would you say are kind of those top three things that you believe that all leaders should have? You know, if you say traits or whatever, however you want to word it.

SPEAKER_04 8:00

First one is strong communication. I think that is so important, again, not just to our staff, but also to the families. And so again, setting up those one-on-one meetings, I have my weekly newsletters that get sent out at the same time every week. I think having strong communication and being transparent is so valuable and huge because people can tell if you're not communicating well or if you're saying something but doing something different. So I think that is very important. The second one is building relationships. I I you cannot do this alone. And our teachers do so much to build our students and to grow our students. And so again, building relationships with the staff. And again, I feel like I'm repeating myself. I'm sorry, but also those relationships. Yeah, it is, but it is now uh relationships with the families, and again, the families seeing you do the work, and then even at elementary, building relationships with the kids. There's um a student who is a UT fan. I was born in Oklahoma.

SPEAKER_01 8:56

Well, you know, everybody's got to cross the bear, right? So every time we'll forgive that.

SPEAKER_04 9:01

Every time I see um my second grade friend, he is doing the hook him sign, and I'm doing the not hook him sign, and that is our thing. His no he has another friend. We do a fist bump explosion. Like we I've created these things with these kids that are I've only known for uh less than a year. Um, and then the third one is a servant leader. I think you have to be willing to be in the trenches and do the work with our teachers and be with our students. Um after our fifth grade graduation, we had our ceremony. The kids moved to the cafeteria. I was in high heels because I was presenting and I just took off my shoes and I start helping these families who were helping clean up, move the table and move the podium. And I was just being me. I didn't do it because they were there. And the next day, these two moms came up to me and they're like, we were so nervous about this year because we were there's so much change. But seeing you like, you you just help you just did all this stuff, and I can't believe you did that. And I've never seen that before. And I just I told Kaylee, I said, I was just being me. Like I wasn't doing it because people were there. I that was me. Like, I'm why would I leave and let them clean up? And so I just think being willing to do all the things, whether that's pulling out a mop and cleaning in the cafeteria, or you know, Dave, I've heard your story of interviewing someone who picked up the trash in the middle of the hallway. Like it doesn't, yep. All of that. I think all those traits are so important for our families, our teachers being there with them to understand, you know, that we're on this journey together.

SPEAKER_02 10:28

We think we had this conversation during season one. Did you ever fit uh have any trouble opening milk cartons for little kids?

SPEAKER_00 10:36

Tearing the ketchup.

SPEAKER_04 10:37

It's the tearing. I'm like, where are the scissors around here?

SPEAKER_01 10:41

We we argue. I mean, we're in 2026. Those milk cartons haven't changed. It's like, come on, there's gotta be an easier way to process these and make it easier to open.

SPEAKER_02 10:53

So, Brooke, um when you became a principal, um so what what hit you first? Was it the visibility, the accountability, or was it the loneliness at the top? Because it is a lonely position.

SPEAKER_04 11:09

That's a great question. It's definitely the visibility and that accountability piece, the gravity that where I'm at, I am now responsible for the staff, the families, the students. I'm responsible for the culture, and I want to make that as welcoming as possible. And so all of that is on me. It's my it's my home, it's my second home. I'm there more than my own home. And so I want it to look and feel just like I have my own home.

SPEAKER_00 11:33

Yeah. I and I, as I came into the principalship, the the principal that I was replacing, um, she was leaving to accept a promotion and we got to visit a little bit, Tracy Arsenal, fantastic, uh working with Region 11 now. Um, and I just asked her, like, what, like, what can I expect? What is different? And that's one of the things she said, the biggest difference is just the weight. And you you mentioned gravity. She said the weight of you realizing everything is on my shoulders right now. Like when I walk in, that's that's you know, when I was working for Dave as an as an assistant principal, you know, there was always that next layer. So I could tell someone no, you know, but I could say, well, we can see what Dave says. Like ultimately it's on that next person. But but you are kind of the the buck stops with you, and and you realize kind of the heaviness of like, man, I'm I'm in charge of this building.

SPEAKER_01 12:21

Like someone's trusting me with this. Yeah, I remember um a friend of mine, we were talking about moving into that principalship at Grapevine High School. He said, You're gonna walk up that first day and you're gonna look to the left of the building and look to the right of the building and realize I'm in charge of all of this and every decision you're responsible for. So it is, I mean, that weight is something we talked a lot about in the first season, the weight of the principalship.

SPEAKER_02 12:44

Does anything about the first day of school stick out to you as a principal?

SPEAKER_04 12:48

It's a great question. I remember it's I'm actually on the cover of our GCI Steve magazine. But I remember just meeting all of these students and they all knew my name, and my last name is Teter Stotes. So the Stotes part is hard to say, but those kindergartners, they had it memorized. And so them coming up and giving me hugs, which I'm coming from secondary and hugs don't always happen. So just really just having them run in and be like, Mrs. Teter Stotes. And there's a picture of actually me hugging one of my students, and then that was now on the cover of our GCSU magazine. But that stands out to me just how much those kids just love coming to school and to get to be a part of their journey, and especially the kindergartners. This is their first time setting foot into a school building, and I get to be a part of that, which is very exciting.

SPEAKER_00 13:33

We tried to say we had a very special guest today, and literally on the cover of magazines.

SPEAKER_01 13:38

So I want to go back to something Michael kind of alluded to. You know, there is that shift of, you know, and we've talked about it a number of times last season of, you know, when you're sitting in the assistant principal chair, you know, I I remember having those moments thinking, God, what is the principal actually doing over there? Um, you know, the the assistant principal's doing all the work, or they're, you know, they're doing the work. Um, so what were some of those kind of that aha moment of moving into that chair from an assistant principal for three years into the principal role?

SPEAKER_04 14:11

Uh I remember interviewing Dr. Fingers back when I was getting my master's, and he said, nothing prepares you for that role. Right. And it really is true. Nothing prepares you for that role. Again, I think it's just that the gravity of everything lands on your plate, and you, this is your home, and you're wanting to welcome people into your home. And so my staff laughs laughs because they call me boss. They're like, hey, boss, you're the boss. And I'm like, oh, I don't, I don't like that word. I'm not the boss. And they're like, but you are the boss. And so just that shift of um, I'm the first line with parents, I'm the first line with students and our teachers. And so they're coming to me and I am putting out a lot of fires and my emails constantly overflowing with things to do. So it is very different than an assistant principal role that it really does, you can't prepare for it until you're actually in that role.

SPEAKER_00 14:58

And you mentioned those fires. And I think that's one of one of the biggest challenges I faced in my first year is those fires can kind of end up occupying your time, you know. And you always talk the first questions are always about you as an instructional leader. And then the fires happen, and it's like, well, you know, somebody's got to put them out. So how did how much of your time did you feel like you were able to dedicate to instructional leadership versus taking care of all the things that came up? How did how did you feel about that?

SPEAKER_04 15:24

Uh, the first nine weeks we had a big vision. Um, my assistant principal, who I got to hire, we were going to do learning walks together every month. And so we did that the first month, and we got to see every teacher together and do walkthroughs together, and we had a plan of our schedule. And then the second nine weeks happened, and then that's where those fires start happening. Um, and then she was on the turn and the leave the third nine weeks. And so it really, that instructional side. I remember when I met with Dr. McMullen and we would have our weekly check-ins. I'm like, I know that that's an area that I need to focus on, and I just don't know how to do it yet. Yeah. And so that's been a focus of mine and already a goal going into next year of making that the priority because that is why we're here.

SPEAKER_00 16:03

Yeah. And I don't I don't think you're alone in that. I think every new administrator is trying to figure that piece out.

SPEAKER_02 16:08

So speak a little bit about those weekly check-ins, because uh I imagine they had to be valuable for someone in their first year.

SPEAKER_04 16:15

Yes. So Dr. McNullen would meet with me every week, and it sometimes they were an hour-long meeting, and sometimes it was just a 15-minute check-in. But allowing me to ask all the questions that were in my mind that I didn't know who to ask or what to do, and then doing walkthroughs with her and just checking in, and really it was so helpful to have someone who come meet with me and we had that time in our calendar every Monday from 10 to 10 45. And I had it blocked off. And so it was a priority for her, but it was a priority for me as well, where I had that time. And I just felt like she's been in my shoes before, she understands, and have a go-to person.

SPEAKER_02 16:51

That's definitely key. And and I hope that whoever is starting this year, if you're starting this school year as a first-year principal, hopefully you have that kind of support.

SPEAKER_01 17:01

Yeah, have that person in your corner, just uh bounce ideas off, ask questions. I love that that just having a list of questions. Let's go and and and talking through that. So, you know, one of the things that, you know, I think we're a big believer in is the idea of relationships. And and, you know, I've known you for a number of years, and that is a specialty of yours. You are a relationship builder. So, how did you kind of balance that? All right, you're moving into a brand new principal role on a campus that you hadn't been at before. Um, and so establishing that authority expectations, but also balancing it with relationships. What advice would you give to a brand new principal of establishing those relationships early?

SPEAKER_04 17:45

My biggest biggest piece of advice that I did and would recommend to any new principal is I met with every single staff member. I started in June all the way up until August when we came back and we scheduled 15 to 30 minute sessions. And I was surprised how many were eager to come in during their summer break. But I had three questions. What do you love about your campus that you want us to continue? What is something that you wish would change? And then just me meeting them and getting to know their goals and who they are as a teacher and educator. And so I did that and I met with every staff member, and that was my paras, that was my front office staff, that was my teachers. I met with all of them, even if they were brand new to the school and they couldn't answer the question of what they would change. I just wanted to get to know them. And so I definitely think that that's valuable because I took all the notes from our conversations and that really drove what how I was gonna leave the school that next year. And so that I just I think is so valuable. And I didn't just do it with my staff. I even met one-on-one with my PTA president, I met one-on-one with my aide to the president, and I met one-on-one with our dad's dad's club president. So it wasn't just the staff, it was the parents as well.

SPEAKER_01 18:52

So I want to piggyback on that. If you were to look back now and you had a chance to do it all over again, would you ask other questions?

SPEAKER_04 18:59

I don't know if I would have asked a different question, but I did an end-of-the-year survey and I wish I would have done a middle-of-the-year survey. And so I did a whole end-of-the-year survey and I asked very similar questions, but even more in depth of how do you want me to support your behavior? All lots of different questions that both my assistant principal and I could look at, but I wish I would have done one for the middle of the year just to kind of have that middle of the point check-in with all my staff. I did it with my learning leaders, but I wish I would have done it with all my staff.

SPEAKER_00 19:26

That's great. I think those are really helpful. And and the key, and I know that you know this, is when they can see some impact of that survey on the back end. You know, I think about the number of times in in this profession where we do take some surveys and check-ins and things like that, and you're like, ah, are they are they really paying attention to this? So when you can really highlight on the back end some of the feedback that you've gotten, and based on your feedback, here's some changes we're making coming into this year. I think that that's something they'll really appreciate. So, was there any um common piece of feedback that that really has driven your goals for next year?

SPEAKER_04 19:58

It was. So going into my first year, the biggest thing was consistency with hallway expectations, consistency with behaviors. And so one of the things that they talked about was they utilized champs, or sorry, they have champs, but it wasn't necessarily utilized. So I wasn't making any big changes academically. We were not, we have a great culture at Great Vine Elementary. Our students work hard, our family's very much involved. And so it was just making minor shifts based on that feedback. And majority was we want to really work on our hallway behavior and our cafeteria behavior. And so we implemented that. And I the the staff saw those changes. And then we're even kind of going with your original question of like we're even reinforcing it even more to another level going into year two.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

Yeah, that's awesome. And then they feel like they have ownership in that because it's based on their feedback to begin with. That's great.

SPEAKER_02 20:46

So going into a new campus, were there any unwritten rules or expectations that you ran into that you that surprised you?

SPEAKER_04 20:56

I don't know if it I would say it's surprised me, but Great Vine Elementary, they're very competitive. Like they love the games. They there's a December calendar where you try to get bells and you try to get as many bells, like jingle bells, as much as possible. And I heard about this from day one. When I met them in May, they were asking me all these peppering me with questions, and they're like, and we have this December calendar. So they are so competitive, which I love being a former coach and coming from that secondary level, but they they love the competitive competitiveness of it, and they um that was definitely an unwritten rule that I can't change. I have to add to it.

SPEAKER_02 21:32

You know, that's what I love about strong cultures that you know they they don't just die away when the leader leaves, they continue from leader to leader to leader.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

Right. So so thinking of when you get onto a campus, you know, I I'm a firm believer in, you know, you kind of have two eyes, two ears, one mouth, use them proportionally. You know, watch, listen, you know, talk. Were were there some things you you looked at and said, okay, maybe here's some areas that we could grow. A little bit. You know, obviously the culture is great and I've been there many a times and it's phenomenal. But, you know, thinking about that role as a principal, are there some things you go, okay, hey, these are some maybe areas of growth that we can move towards?

SPEAKER_04 22:14

Absolutely. So we coming from Cross Timbers and coming from Grapevine, where we were using get better faster, that was not something that was used at Grapevine Elementary, but I definitely didn't want to roll it out first year. Sure. I didn't, they are they had a new principal, they had a new assistant principal, they had a new whole front office team. I didn't want to make too many changes. And so uh that was one where I'm like, we could sprinkle in elements of it throughout the year with a strong objective. I love the fundamental five. So I added elements of that throughout the year. And then now going into year two, really having a strong PLC focus, but going back to Michael's question about the instructional leadership really tying into that um strong instructional framework as we're going into looking at PLCs and using that to drive instruction, but also giving meaningful feedback to help our students and our teachers grow.

SPEAKER_00 23:03

I know you mentioned uh connecting with PTA, connecting with the dads club. Are there some other things you also did to kind of build credibility with the families in the community that maybe you didn't know yet? Or what are some of the ways that you tried to connect with the new community coming in as a you know, someone who who wasn't already in that community to begin with?

SPEAKER_04 23:22

Go to everything. I went to everything. Uh I would have done that anyways, but also taking my son with me. Now he goes to my school, so it helps, but I went to even things that he wasn't necessarily interested in going, we went together. And when I talked about feedback, I did a middle-of-the-year feedback with um my parents. So I did a middle-of-the-year survey and I did an end-of-the-year survey. And one of the things that the end of the year that someone commented on was how authentic I am and how I was a part of everything. And I took my son with me, and my husband would come sometimes, like just really being involved and taking part of the culture, not just as the principal, but also as a parent in that community. Uh, and that really helped, I think, build relationships with my families and community.

SPEAKER_02 24:03

Any challenges, community-related?

SPEAKER_04 24:06

You know, talking about getting feedback uh from families and talking about getting feedback from my staff. One of the things was dismissal. They felt like they wanted to refine it and they had it a certain way. And then COVID happened, and then it just had stayed the same since COVID. So we wanted to revamp it. And that was doing an indoor dismissal. So we weren't just waiting outside for safety and security. And then when families were coming up with walker tags, the families had to have a sign for us to leave. And so I thought this is a great plan. I loved it. Talked to learning leaders about it, talked to teachers about it. We were all on board. And then the first couple of weeks happened, and my families were not happy that their kids were, they were having to walk up with the walking side. And I realized I left out an element. Like I had talked to other schools to get ideas, I talked to my uh teachers. Like I said, we were ready. I thought this is perfect. But then there was an element where I didn't get that parent perspective. And like you mentioned, Dave, I have such a strong foundation of that relationships are important. So as parents were like emailing or calling and being like, I don't understand this. I don't know. Why are we doing this? Why are you changing it? I was like, let's meet face to face. I want to meet face to face and explain the why. Like, the why is my job is to think of worst case scenario. My job is to keep your kiddos safe. And I was able to talk through it. And we left even stronger. And I think I, those parents appreciated that I was not just gonna send an email or take a phone call. Like I wanted to meet with them in person to talk about their concerns and make changes. And there were a few, like, that's a great point. I'm gonna make this tweak. And so I definitely learned about that.

SPEAKER_00 25:37

Dismissal is something I, you know, boy, it is it is the elementary school. Yeah, it's a thing. I mean, no matter how prepared you are for that first week, you've got the the crazy traffic of the first week. Nothing's going exactly how you want it to. Like, I remember one of the first times my supervisors came through was to to check on me was during the first week at dismissal. And it was it felt so chaotic to me. I was so uncomfortable in that moment. I'm like, I promise we'll get this figured out.

SPEAKER_01 26:05

It it's a thing. I mean, I've said on a numerous uh interview committees, and and it's like a thing, the the dismissal.

SPEAKER_04 26:12

I miss secondary. You just let them go. Yeah, you're like, have fun, get however, you get home, just like see you later.

SPEAKER_01 26:18

Exactly. So one of the things that we've talked a lot about, and because we hear a lot about is the idea of work-life balance. And and we had a a phenomenal guest last year on with Chansey, um, and and she talked about the you know things that we can do with work-life balance. And one of the things that she brought up was having that, you know, support system. You know, I know Crow talked about, you know, he and Brandy just having time just watching TV or whatever it is. You know, I have a phenomenal wife who understands what I do. And and you mentioned, you know, your you know, your husband, your kids. So what does that support system look like? And what has there been some intentional things that you've done to say, okay, I gotta cut it off here, and there's got to be some of this work-life balance?

SPEAKER_04 27:03

That's a great question. And definitely I feel like balance comes in seasons. Like my husband knows August and May is a very hectic time. Um, I'm very fortunate that my parents, they live next door. So they watch Levi once a month, and Steven and I have our date nights. And it's sometimes like what Michael said, it's just watching shows that I can't watch in front of my child. And so, or just going out and trying new restaurants and then y'all had Mary Smith on last season. We do now monthly mahjong um like hangouts where we all get together with a group of friends and play mahjong. And so that's um very important and just having time and setting your calendar. And so it that doesn't always happen, but at least having that thread of like, hey, let's plan a time for us to get together. And then I had a text thread with a first-year teacher, a first-year, sorry, a first-year principal at Glenn Hope Elementary, and then a second-year uh principal at Bear Creek Elementary. So having that thread between the three of us that we can pepper questions. We have an elementary thread, but sometimes I was a little nervous to be like, ooh, I don't want them to think that's a silly question, that's a silly question. I don't want to ask. But having Mia and Alicia where we were able to, like, hey, what do you how do you do this? What do you go through? And then having veteran principals like Liz and Heather who I could be vulnerable with and be like, talk me through this. And so definitely having a support system with other principals, but also um, of course, with my family as well.

SPEAKER_00 28:20

I love that you said that because there's no one else in the actual building has the same experiences day to day that you're having. I mean, they're going through some of the same things, but it's different when you have that weight. So I think it's great that you guys, um, as as newer principals have that, you know, communication going where you could talk through some of the craziness and and ask some of the questions. Because we've all been like, I don't know if this is a dumb question, but I need to ask it to someone. And so having someone who's experiencing the same thing, I think is hugely valuable.

SPEAKER_02 28:49

Was there anything that almost broke you? And how did you overcome that?

SPEAKER_04 28:53

Uh, third nine weeks, my assistant principal was on maternity leave, maternity leave. And so that was hard, just in the sense of I was so excited for her and she was celebrating her baby. But again, where that weight felt like it was on me. And even though we had, I had Ann Ricky, who was wonderful and she took care of all the arts, just to feel like it was on me and to kind of lose my partner in crime during that time frame was hard. But my counselor stepped up and I wrote her a beautiful card at the end of the third nine weeks because I would not have gotten through having someone that I could kind of go through that journey with together.

SPEAKER_00 29:26

Yeah, that's a different vibe at elementary because like in secondary, there were like six or seven of us. And so when someone's out, I don't I don't know that you feel it the same way that you do it in elementary, uh, where a couple of you are handling all the things.

SPEAKER_04 29:38

No, I absolutely agree. I'm such a team person. So coming from secondary where there's so many of us, even if it's two APs or five other APs, I'm so used to that. So it did feel a little isolated, but I was able to get through it and um back together and we're heading into year two.

SPEAKER_00 29:56

We all second guessed the things that didn't go how we wish they would have. But what's something you feel like you really got right in year one that you're gonna build on next year?

SPEAKER_04 30:03

I feel confident in saying this is um again, that end of the year survey from my teachers is respecting teachers' time. And so I coming from secondary to elementary, where elementary does a lot of the icebreakers and really fun games and different activities, that isn't always my jam. And so I came in and I was able to take a, you know, an hour time frame and be able to get through the to the meat of what we were learning in about 20, 30 minutes. And so they had time. And so I was very intentional on PD days, giving my teachers time. And then in October, otherwise known as Shoctober, um, Joy and I, my assistant principal, we scheduled out time so that we covered their recess and lunch duty so that way they had an hour of uninterrupted time. Like they were like, we're ordering chilies and it's coming, and we're gonna have an hour to eat our chips in case so. And so being very intentional about giving our teachers time not only to plan, but also just to have fellowship and time together that we're going to add on to next year.

SPEAKER_00 31:01

If you could go back and talk to your former self, you know, a few weeks before the school year started and give yourself some advice, uh, knowing what you know now, what would you tell yourself?

SPEAKER_04 31:12

That it's okay to not know everything. Like you cannot know everything. And I think that you give yourself grace that you're not gonna know everything, and but also own that you don't know everything. So again, coming from secondary and I have a kindergarten teacher asking me questions about phonics and phonemes and foundational literacy skills, I'm like, well, well, hold on, tell me what? And so just being able to say, I do not know, but I will find out, or let me find someone that can help you. And I think owning that, and that's totally okay. And again, I think that builds trust with your staff and your families by being honest that you're not always gonna know everything.

SPEAKER_01 31:46

Well, and we talked about and and we've had a couple people mention that. And the key of it is if you don't know, find out and then circle back. You know, make sure that you follow back up with that person, and that builds that trust and and relationships. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 32:03

Any other advice that you would give someone who in a couple of weeks is gonna be first day of school or first year principal?

SPEAKER_04 32:12

Again, I said it before it uh setting time to meet with your staff, uh, setting time to meet with key parents in your community, even setting up a principles and popsicles and having uh families come so you have that opportunity to meet and talk. And when you're at these events, being very intentional about walking around and getting to know people and talking to people, which isn't always comfortable. My husband would say I'm an extrovert. I don't feel like I am because in those situations I get nervous. But you know, going around and being intentional and talking about it and getting to know your families and setting time in your calendar to be a strong instructional leader and surrounding people with you that are gonna help you. So, like my I got to hire my front office team and my AP, and they know that there are certain things on my calendar that are important that we're gonna block off because they're important for our school. And so I think figuring that out and communicating that.

SPEAKER_02 33:05

Yeah, and you know, this is August, a couple of weeks until school starts, and it's not too late. You may think it is, oh, I'll wait till next year, but no, there you still have time to do that to set up those meetings.

SPEAKER_01 33:16

So, Brooke, you kind of mentioned hiring. You know, as a, you know, you've sat in the seat as an assistant principal, and I know a lot is put on assistant principal and hiring, but ultimately you're the final decision maker in hiring on your on your staff now. What are those things you look for um as you're hiring um new candidates that I mean, they're coming into your culture and the culture of GES. So what do you look for?

SPEAKER_04 33:39

Someone who's wanting to grow and who's willing to grow and is open to that they don't know everything. I was interviewing a SPED teacher last week and we asked a question and she started to answer and she stopped and she goes, I don't know the answer to that. And I talked to her afterwards, I said, I actually appreciated that you stopped and said, I don't, I don't know that. I said, I would have been in the same shoes because it was about early literacy, foundational skills. I said, I don't know if I would have been able to answer that a year ago. So I think um just that eagerness to grow and to learn, um, being a hard worker, this is not an eight to three job. Like this really isn't. And so you have to be willing to kind of do the work and put in some extra time and just have that love for at the end of the day that we're trying to help our students grow.

SPEAKER_00 34:24

I I love that idea of being growth focused and having a growth mindset. I I think that a mistake I would admit to early in the principalship is I was looking maybe for the for the best or most qualified teacher on paper. Experience, yeah. They've got the experience, they answered all the questions right, things like that. But but you can have people that are kind of stuck in their mindset and that don't feel like I can be a better teacher tomorrow than I was today. I can be a better teacher next year than I was this year. When you get a whole staff full of people that think like that, that really care about learning and growing and improving in their craft, I think you can you can just have such an impact with a group like that.

SPEAKER_02 35:02

Now we I wanted this episode to help out those principals that are starting in their first year. But I also want to ask you this question to those assistant principals right now that are aspiring to be principals. What would you say are those one or two things that prepared you for the principalship?

SPEAKER_04 35:24

That's a great question. I think talking with your principal when I worked at Dawson with Nikki Leonard, and then again at Grapevine with Alex Fingers, is they just gave me opportunities to take task and own it fully. And so I had experience of things that they got to do. I was kind of, I felt like I was behind the scenes, like responding to parent emails or planning this. They gave me the opportunity to own it and learn it and see it from that side. I definitely think that also it's depending on what level you want to be at, if you could even have opportunities to, if you're elementary and you want to see a middle school or high school or vice versa, I think giving opportunities to meet and observe with other people. But I just I think just trying to learn as much knowledge and know that again, you're I really I know this sounds sad, but like nothing truly prepares you until you get there. But I think giving you opportunities to own it. Like I not that I didn't feel I I felt like I was prepared going in there. I felt like Alex and Nikki had put so much time and even Jamie when I was learning liaison with her, I just was I felt very prepared going in, not with all the things, but I felt confident going in, knowing that I have lots of tools around me that are gonna be able to help me because I'm not gonna know everything. And so just giving, you know, getting opportunities like that.

SPEAKER_00 36:36

As we wrap up this segment, I want to be the the first of this trio to congratulate you on surviving year one. Thank you. It is it is not an easy thing, and over time the the honeymoon phase wears off a little bit and stuff like that. But I know that you guys had a lot of a lot to celebrate and a lot of success at your campus. So congratulations on that.

SPEAKER_01 36:55

Thank you, Brooke. Like I said from the very beginning, your your your first year was was incredible. Um just kind of watching it from my my seat that I sit in and the way you handled situations and the way you uh you performed as a first year. Well done. Well done.

SPEAKER_02 37:11

And we would love it if you stuck around for our on tap segment.

SPEAKER_04 37:14

Of course, yes, I would love to.

SPEAKER_02 37:16

All right. Let's go. Let's do it. All right, so welcome back to our on tap segment. Uh Dave, what are we discussing today?

SPEAKER_01 37:33

So, today, as we just wrapped up our uh wonderful summer and we're getting back in the swing of school, um, I think we need to look at vacations. You know, let's let's talk about one vacation spot that we just absolutely love, maybe your favorite vacation you ever went on, and then what would be that one as you're planning for the next summer? You're like, man, that's what I want to do, or that ideal vacation spot.

SPEAKER_02 37:57

Yeah. Now, before we get started, uh, Brooke, when you told your friends that you were going on a podcast titled Ed Leadership on Tap, tell us about that.

SPEAKER_04 38:09

So the on tap part, we thought that we might be drinking as we did this. So I had to ask my friend Mary Smith, who was on here. I'm like, wait, are we drinking and talking? Because I don't know if I could do both.

SPEAKER_01 38:22

It could make for some interesting conversation. We could have a real good time doing that.

SPEAKER_02 38:27

And and that may have been the original intent when we first beginning our discussions.

SPEAKER_01 38:31

But uh usually when we record this, we're so tired after work, it's like, oh man, I can't do that right now.

SPEAKER_00 38:38

And we're trying to keep a PG, so that helps with that too. Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 38:41

All right. So who wants to start us off?

SPEAKER_00 38:44

I'm happy to go. Yeah. Well, my favorite vacation that we've actually ever been on, uh, and it took me until about a year ago to do it, but uh, we went to Italy. Oh, and Italy was phenomenal. So we went to Rome and then we made our way down to Amalfi Coast and we're swimming in the ocean outside of ancient castles, and we went and uh to Florence, and and you know, while we're in Italy, we see the Coliseum, we see all this stuff that I dreamed about forever. Um, it was phenomenal. Like, you know, I we think about what's old here. Like we we were just talking about the place we're staying in is like 900 years old, 1200 years old. Um, and what we think about as old in the US in terms of you know, a building or architecture or anything else, you get over there and you're like, this world is a lot bigger than us right now. It was it was a really cool experience. That's awesome. Dr. G, what you got?

SPEAKER_02 39:32

I think mine was last year. Uh, when I got to go to France to see the Tour de France, the final stage on the Champs d'Elysée. And of course, you know, get to see the Eiffel Tower, the Arch, the Louvre.

SPEAKER_01 39:47

All the things you've seen on TV.

SPEAKER_02 39:49

Exactly, right. And we even took a day trip to uh London uh on the channel, on the train. So that that's probably been the best uh trip that I've been on. What about you?

SPEAKER_01 40:01

You know, I I'm a simple man, like you know, we we we took a trip very, very early on when the girls were little, and I got um the name of this place from Lisa Dunn. I think most of us know Lisa, she was a principal here, and and so we took the girls when they were uh really little and then went back a couple times with friends, and then we'll go back now with our family. And we love LA, Lower Alabama LA. Ah, there you go. And we love Dolphin Island, Alabama. If no one is aware of where this is, it is on, if you're looking at a map, it is on the west side of Mobile Bay. And it is a barrier island, it's about a three-mile bridge to get out to it, and there is nothing to do on that island. Couple restaurants, a couple things, and those of you who know me, I'm a little high-strung, kind of high stress person, and getting there and putting the chairs in the sand, setting up your tent for the week, and doing nothing. And and that is my ideal vacation.

SPEAKER_00 41:06

That sounds awesome. Now, I will say that I once remember you having to do a Zoom interview from that beach, if I remember correctly. But outside of that, I have done that before. I have. You gotta check out, Mr. Denny. You gotta let yourself relax a little bit. What about you, Brooke?

SPEAKER_04 41:20

I was gonna say Dauphin Island, but I knew you were gonna say it, so I was prepared. I have been there three times.

SPEAKER_01 41:25

And it's fantastic, isn't it?

SPEAKER_04 41:26

You can set your stuff out there and last for the week. It's there's not a lot of restaurants. There's like the grocery store, it's like a gas station, but it's shipping shore.

SPEAKER_01 41:34

Yeah, shipping shore is the grocery store.

SPEAKER_04 41:37

It's so peaceful and it's not crowded, and it's a really truly great getaway.

SPEAKER_02 41:41

And for people who may not be aware, it's not Dolphin Island, right?

SPEAKER_01 41:45

No, no. D-A-U-L-P-H-I-N. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 41:49

Uh, we took a vacation a few years ago. So my dad and my husband both work for Microsoft, and they found out that they were gonna get to be at Seattle at the same time. So we took a big vacation up there prior to them going, and so we got to spend a weekend and then we stayed longer um in Seattle. And so it is just beautiful. I love being outside, being in nature. One of my favorite memories is Stephen, my husband was working, and so Leva and I took a ferry to Bainbridge Island, which is homes that I never could afford. I don't know what they do, but it is just beautiful. You can see um the space needle from there, but we got to kayak and um otters are coming right up to you, and it's just it's just beautiful. I love just getting away and being in nature and uh in the summer, it's not hot. So, I mean, for to them it's hot, but it's not are kind of hot. It's just it's beautiful, it's a great getaway. Um, and so um we always look forward to going there whenever he gets a chance and we can hop on a flight.

SPEAKER_02 42:49

Do you get to go on the Space Needle? Yes. That's awesome. I've been on there.

SPEAKER_00 42:53

I'm kind of scared of heights. I don't know about all that.

SPEAKER_01 42:56

Yeah, I'm kind of with you, Crow. So, Crow, what would you say as you're as you're looking forward, maybe the next couple summers, what would be on that bucket list?

SPEAKER_00 43:05

Oh, this isn't anything I can actually afford or make happen, but it's on the bucket list. I want to go to like Bora Bora and stay in one of those on-the-water huts, you know what I'm talking about? Like you're just in that like grass hut surrounded by nothing but ocean and and stuff like that. That always looks incredible when I see that somewhere. So that's you know, we love ocean and beach and stuff like that, but that just seems like one of those cool exotic experiences I'll probably never get to have. But uh maybe one day. And it'll happen.

SPEAKER_02 43:40

Whenever our podcast takes off. That's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 43:43

Dr. G, what do you think?

SPEAKER_02 43:45

Um I'm thinking Australia, Sydney. I've always wanted to be there, laying down under. And do the toilets really flush counterclockwise there? I've always heard that.

SPEAKER_00 43:57

I think it's worth checking out.

SPEAKER_02 43:58

So I'll If I ever make it there, I'll come back to New Zealand, that kind of area.

SPEAKER_00 44:04

Yes, definitely. So side note, um, Siri on my phone is Australian. I've got Australian Siri. That's the voice I go with. And so I love when I get directions to a place because when you pull into a parking lot, they call it a Ka Pak. So you gotta you gotta learn what a Ka Pak is before you go there.

SPEAKER_01 44:21

You know, I I think looking at it, and I mean what Crow you said, and Dr. G, what you said, those would be great places. I'd always love to go back. So I think y'all are aware I was an exchange student in Sweden for a year in high school, and I would love to kind of do, especially in the the summer here, go hit like, you know, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, just kind of do a I don't know if you can kind of do a trip all the way up through the Scandinavian countries. It's so beautiful, and and that time of year it is perfect. Um, I'd love to go back there and and spend some more time.

SPEAKER_04 44:56

Our dream vacation, I have a nine-year-old son who loves Pokemon. So we are planning, we don't know if it's the next summer or the next summer after that, but a two-week trip to Japan where we can go to Tokyo and Kyoto and uh just experience life over there. I Instagram now knows that I'm looking for it because they keep sending me things and it's in your algorithm and I'm like, oh Steven, look. Um, so I just think if you're gonna go over there, especially with the time difference, we have to spend two weeks there and just um I hear it's just so they're just so incredibly kind. It's such a safe place to go. So it is, I never would have thought that was on my bucket list, but you know, I want to make Levi happy and we can go visit there.

SPEAKER_00 45:34

Very cool.

SPEAKER_02 45:35

All right, listeners, we want to hear what your favorite trips have been and also some of the dream vacations that you're thinking about having. So uh make sure you let us know.

SPEAKER_01 45:44

We may steal them from you.

SPEAKER_02 45:46

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 45:47

Well, you know, I we definitely, Brooke, thank you so much for spending time with us. Um, we know your your time's very important, but what a great guest to kick off season two with, to just, you know, talk to someone who just finished, I mean, sitting in the seat as a first year principal and did a phenomenal job and just getting your insight. And hopefully someone who is in the same seat as you moving into that first year as a principal can take some of your advice and and have a very successful year like you did.

SPEAKER_02 46:16

That's right, because you gave us some excellent ideas. So, those of you who are starting, uh, make sure you listen to this podcast twice because she had some great ideas.

SPEAKER_00 46:26

Yes. Yes, we really appreciate you being here. It was a blast. Thanks for hanging out. And uh for those listeners that do want to share any of their takes on today's episode or anything related to their dream vacations or best trip of all time, you can shoot us an email at info at edleadershipontap.com. Info at edleadershipontap.com.

SPEAKER_01 46:46

And those of you who are on the socials, you can reach out to us on Facebook or on Twitter or on Instagram and shoot us answers or questions on all the socials.

SPEAKER_02 46:56

Or you can send us a text or a voicemail, even through whichever podcast engine you listen to our show on. So just hit that button, send a text, I think it's called.

SPEAKER_00 47:10

It was a lot of fun today hanging out, and we've got a lot of excitement packed into season two, so we hope you'll continue to join us.

SPEAKER_02 47:15

Until next time.

SPEAKER_00 47:16

Keep leading.