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

Chanie Wilschanski
  • 4.9 (88)
  • EDUCATION
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

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. 4D AGO

    What March Is Really Trying to Tell You About Your School — And Why You Should Listen Now

    March is the mid-year mirror for school leaders, and it's showing you exactly what needs to change before May amplifies everything. In this episode, Chanie Wilschanski breaks down the difference between circumstantial challenges and infrastructure problems, shares a three-question framework to identify your patterns, and walks you through exactly how to install the standards and ownership your school needs to finish the year strong. Resources Mentioned: Register for the Delegation Workshop: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/workshop This Can't Be Normal (Chanie's book): https://thiscantbenormal.comLeadership HQ Membership: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/apply

    27 min

  2. MAR 2

    Calm Isn't An Accident - Why Leaders Must Study Stability

    You finally exhaled. Things at school are good. The team is doing well. No fires. No panicked texts. No impossible parent meetings. And somehow, instead of leaning in, you quietly stepped back — because isn't that the goal? This episode is rooted in the same rhythm-based leadership philosophy at the heart of my book, This Can't Be Normal: What to Do When Success Starts to Feel Like Survival, and it's one of the conversations I wish every school leader could hear before they disappear into a calm season without studying it first. What You'll Learn in This Episode: Why calm seasons are actually your most important diagnostic window — not a break from leadershipThe difference between "borrowed calm" and "built calm" — and how to tell which one you haveWhy drift doesn't begin in chaos — it begins in calm, quietly, while you're not watchingWhat it really means when you "step back" and the team figures it out (and why it might not mean what you think)The critical difference between absence and true leadership transferHow to study your calm and turn one good season into a repeatable oneWhy you cannot anchor yourself — and what to do instead Resources & Links Mentioned: This Can't Be Normal: What to Do When Success Starts to Feel Like Survival by Chanie Wilschanski — available wherever books are sold and at https://thiscantbenormal.comLeadership HQ — Schools of Excellence membership program: https://schoolsofexcellence.com/apply 📘 Buy the book: This Can’t Be Normal: What to Do When Success Starts to Feel Like Survival

    18 min

  3. FEB 23

    Why Early Childhood Promotes Leaders Too Fast — and What School Leaders Pay for It

    Early childhood education promotes leaders faster than almost any other industry — and school leaders are paying the price. In this episode, Chanie Wilschanski names a quiet but growing leadership crisis inside schools: teachers are promoted into leadership roles based on warmth, availability, and emotional labor — not relational stamina, discernment, or leadership infrastructure. You’ll hear why early childhood lacks true leadership pipelines, how urgency and exhaustion drive premature promotions, and why titles alone don’t build capacity. Chanie breaks down what other industries do differently — and what school leaders must begin building now if they want leadership that’s steady, sustainable, and not built on survival. This conversation is for school owners and leaders who promoted someone hoping for relief — and instead found themselves carrying even more weight. What You’ll Learn in This Episode Why early childhood promotes leaders earlier than almost any other industryThe difference between emotional labor and leadership staminaWhy warmth and likability don’t equal leadership readinessHow premature promotion creates top-heavy leadership and invisible pressureWhat discernment actually looks like in school leadershipWhy mentorship and rhythms matter more than titlesHow to stop passing emotional labor from one leader to the next Key Insights Emotional regulation is not leadership. Adults don’t grow through comfort — they grow through stamina.Titles without capacity create collapse. Promoting without scaffolding only shifts the weight.Discernment is a leadership muscle. It must be built through rhythm, mentorship, and exposure.Infrastructure protects leaders. Systems, standards, and rhythms distribute pressure instead of concentrating it. Memorable Quotes “You cannot hug an adult into accountability.”“We reward warmth without cultivating relational stamina.”“Adults don’t grow through discomfort — they grow through stamina.”“Titles change, but emotional labor doesn’t.” Why This Matters for School Leaders Prevents burnout caused by premature promotionsCreates leadership clarity instead of survival-based decisionsProtects owners from becoming the emotional shock absorberBuilds leadership capacity that holds under pressureReplaces urgency with strategy and structure Next Step If today’s conversation named something you’ve felt but haven’t been able to articulate, you’re not behind — you’re seeing the system clearly. 👉 Purchase This Can’t Be Normal and start exploring how school leaders can build leadership infrastructure that doesn’t rely on exhaustion. thiscantbenormal.com

    16 min

  4. FEB 16

    Hiring School Staff Isn’t About Getting the “Right Person” — It’s About Leading Humans

    Hiring can feel like a test you’re supposed to pass. You check references. You trust your gut. You believe in someone. And then something happens — they struggle, disappoint you, drift, or leave suddenly. And the messaging comes fast: “The wrong hire is expensive.”“You should have vetted better.”“This is what happens when you trust too quickly.” In this episode, Chanie Wilschanski names the toxic hiring myth school leaders are swimming in: the belief that if you hire the “right person,” the problems stop — and you can finally rest. But hiring isn’t the moment you eliminate risk. Hiring is the moment you agree to lead humanity. This is not a tips-and-tricks episode. It’s a reality reset for school leaders who are tired of blaming themselves every time a hire doesn’t go exactly as planned — and ready to lead with steadier rhythms that can hold trust when life shows up. In This Episode, You’ll Learn The hiring myth that turns leadership into a moral test of your intelligenceWhy “responsibility equals foresight” is a trap for school leadersWhat hiring actually means — and what it never meantWhy you can’t interview for grief, stress, burnout, or life disruptionsThe interview fallacy and why better questions won’t create safetyThe difference between trusting once vs. building trust through rhythmThe three post-hire rhythms that create predictable safety:Alignment rhythmsOne-on-one rhythmsRupture & repair rhythms Hiring is a choice. Leadership is a relationship. And when we stop trying to choose our way out of relational work, we build school cultures that can hold both standards and humanity. If this episode named something real — especially the invisible weight school leaders carry after a hire — This Can’t Be Normal is now available. 👉 Grab your copy today: thiscantbenormal.com

    37 min

  5. FEB 9

    When Your School Can Run Without You — But Still Can’t Think Without You

    Many school leaders reach a stage where things are “running.” Schedules hold. Classrooms open. Systems work. And yet — they’re still looped into decisions they thought were delegated. In this episode of the Schools of Excellence Podcast, Chanie Wilschanski names the critical difference between a school that can run without its leader and a school that can think without its leader — and why most leadership burnout lives in that gap. You’ll learn why delegation alone doesn’t create freedom, how discernment stays trapped inside the owner’s body, and what it actually takes to externalize thinking so leadership weight doesn’t default upward. This conversation is especially for school leaders who feel tired even though they’re “not doing that much anymore.” In this episode, you’ll learn: The difference between a school that runs and a school that thinksWhy leaders get pulled back in even after delegating wellWhat discernment really is — and why it can’t stay centralizedHow leaders over-function without realizing itWhy rhythms (not reassurance) redistribute thinkingWhat has to be shared before leadership can truly step back This episode reframes leadership freedom — not as leaving sooner, but as staying long enough to teach the school how to interpret reality without you. If this episode named the invisible weight you’re carrying, you’re not behind — you’re in a stage most leaders don’t even realize exists. You can download Chapter 1 of This Can’t Be Normal for free and read it privately, without pressure or urgency. 👉 Download Chapter 1: thiscantbenormal.com

    22 min

  6. FEB 2

    The Hidden Forces That Knock School Leaders Off Balance

    Leadership doesn’t unravel because you did something wrong. It unravels because disruption is inevitable — and most school leaders were never taught what to return to when it arrives. In this episode of the Schools of Excellence Podcast, This Can’t Be Normal author Chanie Wilschanski names the hidden forces that quietly destabilize even the strongest schools — after the systems are built, the team is capable, and the fires are mostly quiet. Many school leaders reach a stage where things look good on paper… yet still feel fragile underneath. This episode explains why that tension exists — and why stability doesn’t come from tighter control, more systems, or more oversight. You’ll learn the three disruptive forces that every school leader faces (and cannot prevent), why disruption isn’t a personal failure, and what mature leadership looks like when growth brings uncertainty instead of calm. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why strong systems alone don’t guarantee stabilityThe three disruptive forces that impact every school (earthquake, wind, fog)Why disruption feels personal — even when it isn’tWhat school leaders must return to when change destabilizes the teamHow rhythms, not control, restore steadiness during growth This conversation is for school leaders who have done “everything right” — and still feel the weight when change arrives. If this episode named something you’ve felt but couldn’t articulate, you’re not alone. You can download Chapter 1 of This Can’t Be Normal — free — and read it privately, slowly, and without urgency. 👉 Download Chapter 1: thiscantbenormal.com

    17 min

  7. JAN 26

    What Holds When You’re Tired: Why School Leaders Need Rhythms, Not More Motivation

    Many school leaders ask for consistency. What they’re really asking is: What holds when I’m tired? In this episode of the Schools of Excellence podcast, Chanie explores why leadership often breaks down on ordinary days — not in moments of crisis — and why motivation, systems, and training alone can’t carry culture, standards, or accountability. This conversation introduces one of the most important leadership distinctions: Systems create structure. Standards create clarity. Only rhythms create safety. You’ll hear: Why leadership that depends on energy and motivation is unsustainableWhat rhythms are — and what they are notHow predictable patterns shape behavior more than policies or explanationsWhy teams follow what happens consistently, not what’s writtenHow rhythms reduce over-functioning and restore shared ownershipWhy leaders often resist rhythms — and where real relief actually lives If things only work when you’re watching, reminding, or rescuing, this episode will help you understand why and what’s missing. 📘 Download Chapter One of This Can’t Be Normal Explore the deeper leadership patterns behind over-functioning, exhaustion, and invisible weight thiscantbenormal.com

    19 min

  8. JAN 19

    The False Promise of Systems for School Leaders

    School leaders are often told that clarity creates relief. That once the systems are documented… once the SOPs are written… once the team is trained one more time… then the weight will finally lift. In this episode, Chanie Wilschanski names the quiet truth many school leaders are living inside of: training transfers knowledge—but it does not transfer ownership. You haven’t failed leadership. You didn’t miss a step. You believed a promise that confused training with behavior change. This conversation unpacks: Why systems and SOPs don’t automatically change behaviorHow “performing confusion” shows up on otherwise capable teamsWhy leaders stay stuck answering questions, absorbing pressure, and carrying invisible weightThe difference between clarity and accountabilityHow patterns—not explanations—drive ownershipWhy rest doesn’t come after training, but only when behavior actually shifts If you’ve ever thought: Why am I still holding this when I’ve explained it clearly?Why does confusion keep showing up even after training?Why does leadership still feel so heavy when the systems are in place? This episode will help you name what’s really happening—and why nothing is “wrong” with you. A Question to Sit WithInstead of asking: What else do I need to explain? Try asking: What behavior am I protecting right now? That question alone often reveals where ownership is being unintentionally redirected back to the leader. Download Chapter One of This Can’t Be Normal This episode is part of an ongoing conversation inspired by Chanie’s upcoming book: This Can’t Be Normal Chapter One is available now and offers language for leaders who: Have trained their teamsBuilt the systemsAnd are still carrying the weight alone You can download Chapter One for free at: https://thiscantbenormal.com The full book releases at the end of January. There’s no urgency. No fixing required. Just language for what you may already be experiencing.

    18 min
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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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