Episode Details

In this week’s episode, Dr. Jen Schwanke and I celebrate 400 episodes of the Principal Matters Podcast. We stroll down memory lane, reminiscing about 10-plus years of producing Principal Matters content. 

This podcast was created as an outlet for lessons I learned as an assistant principal and principal. Over the years, it has become a treasure trove of practices from education leaders across the U.S. as well as worldwide. I am so grateful to have reached this milestone and invite you to go back into the archives of the show to discover years of helpful lessons!

Here’s a short timeline as Jen and I look back at the history of reaching 400 episodes:

2013

The journey began with my first blog post on February 9th, 2013, as I launched my website.

2015

By December 23rd, 2015, I decided to transform the blog into a podcast.

2018

On January 31st, 2018, we celebrated the 100th episode of the Principal Matters Podcast.

2020

Jen joined the show in Episode 146, and fast forward to June 25th, 2020, when together we marked the 200th episode, reflecting on a year of distance learning.

2022

By June 29th, 2022, special guest Dr. Jeff Springer hosted the show, interviewing me for episode 300.

We could not have produced 400 episodes without the many talented and inspiring guests who have made this show valuable for listeners worldwide! Find all the Principal Matters archived episodes here.

2024 – Let’s Celebrate!

For this milestone episode, number 400, Jen and I decided to have some fun. Playing around with AI, we generated 10 lighthearted questions for educators and took turns answering them, which led to engaging conversations for nearly 20 minutes. 

Light-hearted Questions for Educators

1. What would be the theme song of your classroom?
2. If you could take your class on a field trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?
3. What’s the most unexpected thing that has happened during your teaching career?
4. If you weren’t a teacher, what would you be doing?
5. What’s your secret talent that your students don’t know about?
6. If you could have a mascot for your classroom, what would it be?
7. What fictional character would you pick as a co-teacher?
8. What’s your favorite educa