Episode Details

Lisa Parry is a veteran English teacher (1994-present) and K-12 principal (2018-present) who is proud to lead a 2021 National Blue Ribbon Elementary School and a 2020 ESEA Distinguished Elementary School. In 2022, her  colleagues recognized her as South Dakota Region 1 Principal of the Year. Some of the most gratifying work she has done has been serving as a co-developer and facilitator of the South Dakota Department of Education’s Good to Great Teacher Mentoring Program. Speaking and writing about ‘Likable Leadership,’ ‘Master Mindsets,’ and ‘Meaningful Messaging’ is important to her. 

She has presented at the National Blue Ribbon School Conference, and she will be sharing her message there again this fall and at the Making Schools Work Conference this summer. Lisa earned an M.S.Ed. in Educational Leadership from South Dakota State University and a B.S.Ed. in English Education from the University of South Dakota.  

You can learn more about her and her presentations at her website www.principalparry.com

Fill in the gaps on the intro and tell listeners something they may surprised to know about you?

I lead a PK-12 school of approximately 300 students, and I still teach one course each year. My AP Lang & Comp; Comp seniors keep me grounded in the experiences of a classroom teacher which is critically important to my success in so many ways!

Tell us about Arlington School District you lead as principal and AP Comp. teacher.

We are a rural district in South Dakota, and we serve 300ish students who all learn and grow together under one roof. We are proud of our academic and extracurricular programs and strive every year to go from great to even better!

Why do you focus on likable leadership?

We are in the customer service business: teachers need to lead their classrooms with warmth and competence and principals need to lead their schools with warmth and competence. We are losing too many students and teachers to competitors.

A few quotes come to mind when I consider this question: 

• Maya Angelou — “At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.” 

• TikTok post –“Have you tried being nice?” Ultimately, I find great joy in pursuing and securing mutually-beneficial outcomes, and when I am able to accomplish that, the individual on the other side of the negotiation generally has a positive feeling about me. That matters in leadership—and especially in roles that involve the most vulnerable populations (the young and the old).

• Marigolds – Jen Gonzalez & Cult of Pedagogy

Can you tell us about your super power of managing difficult conversations and conflict? What les