The Principal's Handbook

In this episode, we’re tackling one of the biggest challenges principals face: discipline. If you’ve ever felt like student behavior consumes your entire day, leaving you drained and reactive, you’re not alone.

I’ll walk you through the common traps principals fall into — reacting emotionally, taking behavior personally, and rushing to consequences — and share mindset shifts that will help you lead discipline with clarity, calm, and confidence.

Whether you’re handling discipline with or without an assistant principal, these strategies will help you reclaim your time, reduce stress, and actually change behavior in the long run.

Get my FREE 5-Step Behavior Blueprint for Principals

Get The Principal's Discipline Blueprint.

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.