Schools of Excellence: The No. 1 ECE & Private School Leadership Podcast

Chanie Wilschanski

If you are an Early Childhood director or childcare owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies - equipping school leaders to improve staff retention, increase teacher motivation, grow parent partnerships, create a collaborative culture, and enjoy a beautiful quality of life. Every week, Chanie shares the truth about childcare and early childhood school leadership for those striving towards excellence. If you are an early childhood or childcare school leader looking for strategies to grow your school, that are working TODAY, The Schools of Excellence Podcast is for you. In addition to weekly solo episodes, she'll also be inviting childcare and early childhood industry leaders to discuss the most pressing issues facing school leaders today. Don't miss an episode; subscribe today for everything you need for your school leadership journey!

  1. 19h ago

    The Enrollment System That Added 80 Families in 30 Days

    What if I told you one of our clients added 80 new families to her enrollment for the upcoming school year, and five more who enrolled on the spot, in under 30 days? Not through luck. Not through crossing her fingers and hoping tours would convert. Through a system. In this episode, I'm walking you through the enrollment gear: what it actually looks like to build an enrollment ecosystem instead of just doing enrollment activity. I'm sharing the real story of a client, Missy, who runs multiple locations and turned one of her struggling centers around by building accountability into her calendar instead of hoping her team would just remember to follow up. We're covering the four levels of work every gear needs (strategic, implementation, support, and classroom), the difference between green and red activities in your enrollment process, and why your calendar is the real battlefield where enrollment either happens or doesn't. I also get into why disturbances and interruptions throughout your day aren't a sign something's broken. They're actually part of the job, and there's a mindset shift here that changes how you lead. What You'll Learn: The three systems Missy put in place that helped her center enroll 80 new families in under 30 daysThe four levels of work (strategic, implementation, support, classroom) and who owns each one in your enrollment processThe difference between green activities (closest to the cash) and red activities (busywork that feels productive but doesn't move enrollment)Why your calendar, not your to-do list, is where enrollment actually gets won or lostHow to know when your enrollment gear can move into strategic maintenance instead of constant hustleWhy interruptions and disturbances throughout your day are an invitation to practice leadership, not a problem to eliminate Resources Mentioned: Five Gears Diagnostic: https://hub.schoolsofexcellence.com/fivegears Connect With Us: Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

  2. 5d ago

    Your Calendar Is Your Biggest Profit Problem

    You already know your enrollment is down. You already know payroll is eating you alive. You already know two of your best teachers just gave notice. But have you actually looked at your calendar? In this episode, I'm walking you through something I say to our clients until I'm blue in the face: every single problem you're dealing with in your center right now, profit, staff retention, parent retention, enrollment, traces back to your calendar. Not your marketing. Not your staff. Your calendar. This isn't a time management pep talk. This is the actual mechanism behind why some centers grow steadily while others stay stuck putting out the same fires month after month. I walk you through how I run calendar audits with our clients (including multi-site operators running 5, 10, 15+ locations), what the School Leader Scorecard is, and why I said no to a well paid, exciting opportunity that came my way this year, even though it hurt in the moment. If you've ever told yourself "I just don't have time" or blamed a missed goal on a call-out or a licensing visit, this episode is going to challenge that story. Grab a notebook. You're going to want to write some of this down. What You'll Learn:Why your calendar and your bank account are the two most honest indicators of what you actually valueThe difference between working in your business and working on your business, and why both need dedicated timeHow to identify the $10 an hour tasks that are quietly draining your profitWhat the School Leader Scorecard is and how it categorizes your time from $10 an hour to $10,000 an hourWhy "someone called out" is not the real reason you missed your goalsHow to run a calendar audit that actually holds you accountable to your prioritiesWhy saying no to a profitable opportunity was the right call for my business this season Connect With Us: Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

  3. Jul 28

    How to Prepare for the First Staff Meeting

    Ever notice how the first staff meeting of the year gets the ironed tablecloths, the good snacks, and the outfit you actually planned in advance... and then somehow still leaves your team overwhelmed instead of inspired? That's the paradox we're unpacking on this episode. As a new school year gets underway, it's tempting to use that first meeting to hand your team everything you think is mission critical, all at once. Handbook. Policies. Vision. Values. Classroom management. Every important thing you've been sitting on, verbally dumped into one meeting because it finally feels like the right moment. And then we wonder why the team walks away foggy instead of focused. In this episode, Chanie breaks down why that approach backfires and walks through a framework for designing a first staff meeting that actually sticks. The core idea: different topics activate different parts of the brain, and a meeting that jumps between all of them without intention is asking your team to do something their brains simply can't do well. What You'll LearnWhy cramming vision, policy, and logistics into one meeting works against you, and the three-part structure to use insteadHow to turn abstract concepts like mission and vision into something your team can actually use when a parent is yelling or a kid needs stitchesThe exact questions to ask your staff so they define, in their own words, how they want to show up when things get hardHow to build a school theme or headline for the year that actually guides decisions about time, money, and energy, instead of getting lost by OctoberA hands-on team activity that gets your whole staff thinking creatively about what your theme looks like in real classroomsWhy investing in people will always outperform investing in another piece of softwareHow to close out the meeting by having each teacher commit to one small, doable habit for the year Connect With Us: Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

  4. Jul 23

    How Kathy Built Five Centers (And Counting) Without Burning Out

    What happens when you've done everything right, built the SOPs, color-coded the calendars, created the checklists, and your business still finds a way to make you sick? That's exactly where this week's guest, Kathy Gray, found herself. Kathy is the owner of Creative Critters, a growing early childhood education company based in Virginia with five centers (and counting). She's been part of the Schools of Excellence community for years, and in this conversation, she gets real about what it actually looked like to lead “with empathy first” and what it cost her. If you've ever felt like being a good leader means being endlessly available, endlessly understanding, and endlessly willing to make an exception for one more person, this episode is going to hit close to home. Kathy and Chanie unpack the difference between leading by example and leading by self-sacrifice. They talk about what happens when a director is too afraid to protect the standards because she's afraid of losing staff (spoiler: you lose the right staff anyway). And they get into one of the most important distinctions in leadership: care is not the same thing as capacity. This episode also digs into how Kathy started using data, specifically staff time-off data, to finally see what her culture was actually telling her. One number she found: at one center, they had a full staff only 35% of the time. That's not a staffing problem. That's a standards problem. By the end of this conversation, you'll understand why the phrase “protecting the standards” matters so much more than “being consistent,” and why the goal isn't to stop caring. It's to stop absorbing everyone else's outcomes as your own. What You'll Learn:Why leading “by example” can quietly turn into leading by self-sacrificeThe critical difference between care and capacity, and why confusing them costs you your best staffHow Kathy used time-off data to uncover what her culture was really telling her (and what she found)Why protecting the standards is different from being “a stickler” or being harshWhat it means to let the company, not the leader, carry the weight of the standardWhy healthy dependence on your team is not weakness, and what's lost when leaders try to do it all aloneKathy's honest reflection on what still isn't where she wants it to be, even after years of growth Resources Mentioned: This Can't Be Normal by Chanie Wilschanski: https://thiscantbenormal.com Access Chapter One of This Can’t Be Normal for Free: https://thiscantbenormal.com/chapter-one Connect With Us: Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

  5. Jul 21

    You're Not Weak, You're Drowning in Invisible Labor

    A few weeks ago, I sat down with Jessica Hampton and Katie Dank on Child Care Confidential, and about ten minutes in, Jessica said, "You just described my life." That's usually how these conversations go. We talked about what's in This Can't Be Normal, and specifically about why a bigger team can still leave a leader feeling completely alone. We got into the difference between systems, standards, and rhythms, why "getting buy-in" is often a leader avoiding a hard conversation instead of building real alignment, and why waking up at 2 am with your brain looping isn't a personality flaw. It's a drift, and it's a signal worth listening to. If you've ever felt like the only one actually working while everyone else gets to play pretend until things get hard, this conversation is for you. Why "protecting your energy" is the wrong goal, and what to do insteadThe real difference between systems, standards, and rhythms, and why only rhythms create safetyWhat "performing confusion" looks like when a director avoids holding a standardWhy proximity isn't accountability, and how leaders end up being the business instead of building oneWhy resistance to a new standard is often a sign the standard is a good oneThe three-part definition of a rhythm: pre-decided, mood-proof, and identity-giving Resources Mentioned: Download Chapter One of This Can’t Be Normal: https://thiscantbenormal.com/chapter-oneGrab a copy of This Can’t Be Normal: https://thiscantbenormal.com/ Connect With Us: Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

  6. Jul 16

    Are You Neglecting Your Team Without Realizing It?

    Earlier in the week, we talked about micromanaging, the first thing that shows up in what I call the delegation dip. Today we're moving into the second thing: neglect. Neglect doesn't look like yelling or control. It looks like handing someone the reins and walking away, especially when they seem competent enough that you assume they don't need guidance. I want to share a story that plays out in schools constantly, where a leader hires someone highly capable, assumes competence means they don't need training, and unintentionally leaves them to fend for themselves. We'll talk about what neglect actually looks like day to day, why it's just as damaging as micromanaging even though it feels like the opposite, and how to give your team the guidance they need without hovering over them. - Why hiring someone capable can accidentally lead to less training, not more - The difference between coaching a beginner and coaching someone already skilled - Why teachers and directors need different mindsets - How unclear direction leads people to fill gaps with self-doubt - Practical ways to guide your team without micromanaging or disappearing Tune in for part two of this series, and get ready to look at delegation a little differently. Resources Mentioned: Free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation Connect With Us: Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

  7. Jul 14

    The Delegation Dip Nobody Warns You About

    You've probably been told you can't delegate because you're a control freak or a perfectionist. This episode kicks off a new series called the Delegation Dip, and Chanie makes the case that sometimes holding onto a task is wisdom, not fear. - Why delegating a task and delegating an outcome goal are different skills - The difference between a taskmaster and a profit warrior on your team - What the delegation dip is and why efficiency drops after you hand something off - The real, fear based root of micromanagement - Three signs you're micromanaging, and what to do instead Tune in for part one of this series, and get ready to rethink what delegation actually requires. Resources Mentioned: Free Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/delegation Connect With Us: Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

  8. Jul 9

    Feed Forward: The Culture Tool You're Missing

    Ever given a teacher feedback and watched her shut down right in front of you? This week, Chanie breaks down the real difference between feedback and feed forward, and why one keeps your team stuck while the other actually helps them grow. - Why feedback can trigger fight, flight, or freeze in your team - A real coaching story about a curriculum specialist who was hypercritical with one age group - The exact questions that help a teacher see her own blind spots - How often you should be running formal check-ins with your staff - Who you should actually be asking for feedback, and who you shouldn't Tune in for a practical shift you can use in your very next coaching conversation. Resources Mentioned: This Can't Be Normal by Chanie Wilschanski: https://thiscantbenormal.comAccess Chapter One of This Can’t Be Normal for Free: https://thiscantbenormal.com/chapter-one Connect With Us: Let's Chat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaniewilschanski/Join us on Substack: https://chaniewilschanski.substack.com/

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4.9
out of 5
88 Ratings

About

If you are an Early Childhood director or childcare owner, prepare to transform your school and life with the Schools of Excellence podcast. Tune in each week to learn from Chanie Wilschanski, the founder and host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast and a mom of 4 kids. Each episode will be packed with tools and strategies - equipping school leaders to improve staff retention, increase teacher motivation, grow parent partnerships, create a collaborative culture, and enjoy a beautiful quality of life. Every week, Chanie shares the truth about childcare and early childhood school leadership for those striving towards excellence. If you are an early childhood or childcare school leader looking for strategies to grow your school, that are working TODAY, The Schools of Excellence Podcast is for you. In addition to weekly solo episodes, she'll also be inviting childcare and early childhood industry leaders to discuss the most pressing issues facing school leaders today. Don't miss an episode; subscribe today for everything you need for your school leadership journey!

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