The Principal's Handbook

In this episode, Barb is joined by Lisa Danahy, founder of Create Calm, owner of Radiant Child Yoga, and author of Creating Calm in Your Classroom. Lisa brings over 30 years of experience as a yoga therapist and educator, blending mindfulness, neuroscience, and real-world school practices. Together, they explore how viewing behavior through a nervous system lens can transform the way principals support students, staff, and parents. You’ll learn why self-regulation is the foundation of effective leadership, how co-regulation reduces reactivity in schools, and simple, practical strategies—like breath and movement—that can be embedded into the school day without sacrificing expectations or accountability.

Connect with Lisa at Create Calm.

Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks and IXL:

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time. 

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation. 

We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.