The Assistant Principal Workshop

Mark Pages
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Education
  • Updated Weekly

The Assistant Principal Workshop is a mentor-style leadership podcast for current assistant principals and aspiring school leaders navigating the messy middle of school leadership. Hosted by a middle school AP and former music teacher, this show blends real stories from the trenches with practical, actionable strategies you can use immediately. In 20–25 minute episodes, you’ll gain tools for instructional leadership, discipline with dignity, credibility building, and leading well without burning out.

  1. Sep 20

    The Honeymoon Is Over: Handling Conflict as an Assistant Principal

    The honeymoon period is over. Staff are tired, students are testing boundaries, parents have concerns, and sooner or later, someone is going to be frustrated with you. In this episode of The Assistant Principal Workshop, we talk about handling conflict without inheriting everyone else’s emotions. From student discipline and frustrated teachers to parent concerns and staff disagreements, we explore when to listen, when to coach, when to intervene, and when a problem needs to move up the chain. Plus, three simple questions you can use the next time someone walks into your office with a problem: What happened? What have you already tried? What outcome are you hoping for? Conflict is part of school leadership. The goal isn’t to avoid it—it’s to handle it well, follow through, and preserve relationships afterward.

  2. Sep 14

    You Don’t Have to Answer Right Now: Making Better Decisions as an Assistant Principal

    Making decisions is the name of the game in school leadership—but good leadership doesn’t mean having an immediate answer for everything. In this episode of Assistant Principal Enlightenment, Mark breaks down how assistant principals can slow down when needed, prioritize decisions, gather the right information, and “think tank” with others before making the call. He also discusses what happens when you get a decision wrong, how those experiences prepare you for greater leadership responsibilities, and why following through on what you say you’ll do is essential for building trust. Whether it’s a student issue, a frustrated parent, a staff concern, or a decision you’ve never had to make before, sometimes the best answer is: “Let me think about it, and I’ll get back to you.” Just make sure you actually get back to them.

  3. Sep 7

    Five Classroom Walkthroughs a Week: A Real-Life System for Assistant Principals

    How do assistant principals consistently complete classroom walkthroughs when discipline, meetings, parent concerns, and daily emergencies keep interrupting the plan? In this follow-up to Classroom Walkthroughs Explained, Mark shares the practical system he uses to make walkthroughs part of his week. He discusses using a clipboard and paper observation sheet, recording hard evidence, varying classroom visits across different periods, mapping student discourse, transferring notes into digital tools, and tracking instructional patterns over time. This episode is about making walkthroughs manageable, reflective, and useful—without turning every classroom visit into a miniature formal observation.

  4. Aug 30

    Classroom Walkthroughs Explained: What Assistant Principals Should Look For

    Assistant principals are often expected to complete classroom walkthroughs, but simply stepping into a classroom and checking a box isn’t instructional leadership. In this episode, I break down what administrators should actually be looking for during classroom visits, including five quick areas to notice: purpose, student thinking, academic discourse, checks for understanding, and classroom climate. I also share how I’m approaching classroom visibility this year with a 60/30/10 model of quick check-ins, focused instructional visits, and formal walkthroughs, plus examples of high-leverage feedback that is specific, actionable, and grounded in real evidence. Whether your district requires five walkthroughs a week or you’re simply trying to become a more visible instructional leader, the goal is the same: don’t just visit classrooms—create feedback loops that help teaching and learning improve. If you have questions or want tools and tips around walkthroughs, reach out at mark@markpagesmedia.com.

  5. Aug 9

    Year Two Is Harder Than Year One: How Assistant Principals Keep Growing

    Year one comes with a built-in challenge: survive, learn the building, and figure out the job. But year two is different. You’re not new anymore—so how do you avoid getting comfortable and actually keep moving the needle? In this 11-minute episode of The Assistant Principal Workshop, Mark reflects on the difference between being busy and being transformational, the hidden mental load of the AP role, and why freedom of time doesn’t always mean free time. This week’s Workshop: Identify one thing that will be better by the end of the year because you were there—and make one move toward it this week. I also think an even stronger, slightly punchier title would be: You’re Not the New AP Anymore—Now What?

  6. Aug 2

    Inspire a Shared Vision: How Assistant Principals Build and Communicate a Shared Vision

    Assistant principals are expected to lead with confidence and purpose, but they also have to remain aligned with the vision of their principal and district. So how do you inspire others when you are not always the person setting the direction? In this episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast, I break down what James Kouzes and Barry Posner’s leadership practice Inspire a Shared Vision actually looks like in the everyday work of an assistant principal. This episode explores how APs can: Communicate vision during the first faculty meeting.Connect walkthrough and observation feedback to larger instructional goals.Reinforce school values during student conversations in the cafeteria, hallways, and discipline office.Explain expectations to families in a way that connects policy to purpose.Support a principal’s vision without losing their own leadership identity.Ask clarifying questions privately while presenting a consistent administrative message publicly.Turn broad priorities like belonging, engagement, attendance, and instructional rigor into concrete actions.Use small leadership moments to help staff and students understand the type of school they are working to create.This week’s Leadership Challenge asks listeners to choose one upcoming leadership moment and prepare a brief explanation of what they are trying to create, why the moment matters, and how their own actions will reinforce the vision. A shared vision is not proven by how well it is written. It is proven when people can see it in the way you lead.

  7. Jul 26

    Assistant Principal Summer Bootcamp #6: Don't Let Students Fall Through the Cracks

    Every school has caring educators. The real question is: when someone notices a student is struggling, what happens next? In Episode 6 of the Assistant Principal Summer Bootcamp, we shift our focus from schoolwide systems to the individual students who need us most. A strong student support system isn't built during a crisis—it's built before one ever happens. In this episode, I discuss: Why every assistant principal should understand their school's student support pathways.Mapping your student services team, including counselors, special education staff, nurses, attendance personnel, and administrators.Lessons I've learned transitioning into a larger student services role and becoming more confident leading IEP and 504 meetings.Why asking questions and leaning on experts is a strength—not a weakness—as a school leader.How MTSS should be viewed as a process for preventing students from slipping through the cracks, not just another meeting on the calendar.Why attendance, behavior, and academic data should always lead to conversations and meaningful follow-up.How assistant principals can connect teachers, families, counselors, and support staff to ensure students receive the help they need.This week's Leadership Challenge is to choose one type of student concern—attendance, academics, behavior, or mental health—and map out the entire support process from the moment a concern is identified to the follow-up that ensures the intervention is working. Because great schools don't just respond to struggling students—they build systems that make sure no student has to struggle alone.

  8. Jul 13

    Assistant Principal Summer Bootcamp #5: Prevent the Problems You Can Predict

    In Episode 5 of the Assistant Principal Summer Bootcamp, we focus on the systems assistant principals can build before students arrive to prevent confusion, crowding, downtime, and discipline issues later. This episode is all about “Tier 0 leadership” — the proactive work that happens before referrals, interventions, and consequences are needed. In this episode, I discuss: Why a master schedule is not just an academic document, but a behavior prevention tool.How first-year assistant principals can use data, staff input, class sizes, and teacher preps to make the best scheduling decisions possible.How second-year assistant principals can use experience to separate challenging student combinations, support academic needs, and think more strategically.Why assistant principals should walk through the entire student day before students do.How arrival, breakfast, lockers, homeroom, announcements, lunch, bathrooms, dismissal, and phone procedures can either support or disrupt the school day.Why unstructured time still needs structure.How modified schedules and orientation days help younger grade levels learn the building, routines, and expectations.The importance of practicing procedures like hallway expectations, dismissal routines, phone pouch systems, and fire drills before problems happen.This week’s Leadership Challenge asks you to choose one student routine, walk it from start to finish, and identify where students may be confused, crowded, waiting, or unsupervised. Because a lot of school-year problems are not solved in the moment. They are prevented by the systems we build before the moment ever happens.

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About

The Assistant Principal Workshop is a mentor-style leadership podcast for current assistant principals and aspiring school leaders navigating the messy middle of school leadership. Hosted by a middle school AP and former music teacher, this show blends real stories from the trenches with practical, actionable strategies you can use immediately. In 20–25 minute episodes, you’ll gain tools for instructional leadership, discipline with dignity, credibility building, and leading well without burning out.

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