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The Private School Leader Podcast

Advertise on podcast: The Private School Leader Podcast

Rating
★★★★★
4.8
from
69 reviews
This podcast has
209 episodes
Language
English
Publisher
Mark Minkus
Explicit
No
Date created
2022/10/15
Latest episode
2026/10/17
Average duration
34 min.
Release period
7 days

Description

The Private School Leader Podcast exists to help you go from SURVIVING to THRIVING as you lead your school. Do you ever feel lonely and isolated in your role as a private school leader? Do you wish that you could get back to what really energizes you (making a difference in the lives of your students)? Do you want to have a long AND fulfilling career in private school education? Are you an aspiring Head of School and you want to accelerate your leadership growth? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions then the Private School Leader Podcast is for you! Your host, Mark Minkus, has been a private school leader for over 30 years. He’s been where you are. He’s been in the hospital with ulcers. He’s had his daughters ask, “Dad, when do we get to see you instead of the back of your laptop?” About 10 years ago, Mark went from surviving to thriving and he is here to help you do the same! You will learn step by step strategies to effectively deal with difficult parents, overcome burnout, change your school’s culture, increase your productivity, improve teacher morale and more! Most importantly, you will learn how to effectively lead your school while still taking care of your mind, body and spirit. Sounds impossible, right? It’s not! Mark knows how incredibly busy you are. That's why he created a weekly podcast that you can listen to while driving to school, working out or running errands. Think of this podcast as your weekly dose of inspiration, motivation and PD, all while doing something else! If you want to get out of “survival mode” and start thriving at school, then tune in every week to the Private School Leader Podcast!

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Episode 209: STOP Being A Professional Firefighter and START Being A Professional Fire Preventer
2026/10/17
I have a nephew named Kevin. He used to be a professional firefighter in North Carolina. One day, Kevin was inside of a burning building when the floor collapsed. As he was falling into the basement, Kevin grabbed a floor joist and was just hanging there. Kevin then pulled up his entire body weight with one arm and was able to escape the burning building. Unfortunately, he tore up his shoulder so badly that the injury eventually ended his career as a firefighter. I have a tremendous amount of respect for professional and volunteer firefighters. These men and women risk their lives every day to save lives and keep us safe. Do you sometimes feel like a professional firefighter? Do you walk around the school with a small “fire extinguisher” clipped to your belt? On some days, do you feel like fighting fires is the only thing that you actually do? If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, I have good news for you. On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to discuss how to STOP Being A Professional Firefighter and START Being A Professional Fire Preventer. Thank you for listening to the podcast every week. You are making a difference in the lives of the students, teachers and parents at your school. I know that what you do is difficult, exhausting and lonely. Your hard work inspires me to keep making weekly content to try to encourage and inspire you as you serve your school. Thanks for all you do, Mark Minkus Most of my clients and students use Title II funds to pay for Parent Academy, THRIVE Academy, 1-on-1 Coaching, Private School Teacher Academy and The PSL Pro Membership! Strong teachers make strong schools. Private School Teacher Academy is the Professional Development that your teachers and students deserve! "I wholeheartedly encourage other private school leaders to invest in their staff by partnering with Mark. His webinars are an investment that will strengthen your school community long after the sessions are over!” Julie, Principal, Boise, ID I am going to help you invest in your teachers, by giving them a high-quality, low-cost series of professional development experiences: Highly practical topics, with strategies that your teachers can apply immediately On-demand video webinars Guided notes, discussion questions, teacher resources I can help you use your Title II Funds to pay for Private School Teacher Academy!  On-Demand webinars with guided notes, discussion questions and teacher resources: The 5 Keys To Having Your Best School Year Ever The Differentiation Playbook: Helping Every Student Learn Without Burning Yourself Out The 6 Habits Of An Outstanding Private School Teacher How To Better Support Students Who Have Mental Health Struggles Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/teacher to learn more! If you like the podcast, please write a review and leave a rating. Your review helps to push this content out as a suggested podcast to private school leaders all over the world. The Private School Leader Podcast has been downloaded in 75 countries and all 50 states. Thank you for listening and thanks for your review! I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks! I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week! I am really excited to share a new resource with you that I created recently. It is called The 6 Keys To Improving Your Relationship With Your Board. The most important relationship in our private schools is the one between the Board and the Head of School and I think that there is always room for improvement. This FREE guide is a 7 page pdf where I give you specific strategies to strengthen your relationships with your board members. So go www.theprivateschoolleader.com/board to grab your free guide! Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.  That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course.  Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more! I want to give you a new resource that I just created a few weeks ago. It is called: The 4 Worst Things Parents Believe About Your School And How To Change Their Minds. Have you ever gotten really frustrated when parents believe things about your school that aren’t true? I think that it is really infuriating and discouraging. Unfortunately, parent perception is reality. Well, I have created a pdf guide that will talk about 4 super problematic things that parents probably believe about your school. Most importantly, I am going to teach you how to change their minds. You can grab this FREE guide at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/believe What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.  Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help. I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1. I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale I am super excited about a brand new resource that I want to share with you for FREE! It is a 45 minute Masterclass called: “Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. This is a video webinar training complete with guided notes and it will do exactly what the title says. This training will help you to be successful, organized and energized at school while still taking good care of yourself AND your family! Does that sound too good to be true? Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/winning  to grab your free Masterclass training Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide  I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step-by-step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide! Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode209 Do you ever have “Teacher Drama” at your school? Gossip. A teacher coming to you because they can’t get along with another teacher? Well, I am excited to share with you a resource called 5 Strategies To Reduce Teacher Drama At Your School. This is a 9 page pdf that will give you strategies that will help you to actually reduce teacher drama at your school. Go to www.
Episode 208: When A Teacher’s Crisis At Home Starts Affecting Their Performance At School
2026/10/10
We will call her Julie.  Julie walked into my office, closed the door and said, “Do you have a minute?” Julie sat down and told me about a serious personal crisis. It involved a family member experiencing a significant health problem. Julie was trying to take care of this person, continue working and keep the rest of life from falling apart. My heart went out to her. I remember thinking, “I don’t know how this person is getting out of bed every morning, let alone coming to school and teaching.” So, I did what most caring leaders would do. I listened. I expressed empathy. I asked how I could help. I gave her some additional flexibility. And I meant every word of it. But over the next few weeks, something else began to happen: Julie started arriving late. Assignments were not being graded. Emails from parents went unanswered. She became more impatient with students. Colleagues were covering homeroom and classes and assuming additional responsibilities. At first, everyone was understanding. They cared about Julie and knew that something very difficult was happening. But eventually, the situation reached a point where compassion alone was not enough. The teacher’s personal crisis was beginning to affect students, families and colleagues. You have probably been in this situation before. It is very uncomfortable for everyone. As the leader, you are trying to find the elusive balance between compassion and accountability and it feels impossible. On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to discuss what to do When A Teacher’s Crisis At Home Starts Affecting Their Performance At School. Thank you for taking me along with you when you are walking the dog, driving to school or running errands. I appreciate you and what you are doing for the lucky kids and teachers at your school. Thanks so much for listening and thanks for making a difference! Mark Minkus Most of my clients and students use Title II funds to pay for Parent Academy, THRIVE Academy, 1-on-1 Coaching, Private School Teacher Academy and The PSL Pro Membership! Strong teachers make strong schools. Private School Teacher Academy is the Professional Development that your teachers and students deserve! "I wholeheartedly encourage other private school leaders to invest in their staff by partnering with Mark. His webinars are an investment that will strengthen your school community long after the sessions are over!” Julie, Principal, Boise, ID I am going to help you invest in your teachers, by giving them a high-quality, low-cost series of professional development experiences: Highly practical topics, with strategies that your teachers can apply immediately On-demand video webinars Guided notes, discussion questions, teacher resources I can help you use your Title II Funds to pay for Private School Teacher Academy!  On-Demand webinars with guided notes, discussion questions and teacher resources: The 5 Keys To Having Your Best School Year Ever The Differentiation Playbook: Helping Every Student Learn Without Burning Yourself Out The 6 Habits Of An Outstanding Private School Teacher How To Better Support Students Who Have Mental Health Struggles Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/teacher to learn more! If you like the podcast, please write a review and leave a rating. Your review helps to push this content out as a suggested podcast to private school leaders all over the world. The Private School Leader Podcast has been downloaded in 75 countries and all 50 states. Thank you for listening and thanks for your review! I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks! I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week! I am really excited to share a new resource with you that I created recently. It is called The 6 Keys To Improving Your Relationship With Your Board. The most important relationship in our private schools is the one between the Board and the Head of School and I think that there is always room for improvement. This FREE guide is a 7 page pdf where I give you specific strategies to strengthen your relationships with your board members. So go www.theprivateschoolleader.com/board to grab your free guide! Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.  That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course.  Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more! I want to give you a new resource that I just created a few weeks ago. It is called: The 4 Worst Things Parents Believe About Your School And How To Change Their Minds. Have you ever gotten really frustrated when parents believe things about your school that aren’t true? I think that it is really infuriating and discouraging. Unfortunately, parent perception is reality. Well, I have created a pdf guide that will talk about 4 super problematic things that parents probably believe about your school. Most importantly, I am going to teach you how to change their minds. You can grab this FREE guide at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/believe What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.  Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help. I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1. I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale I am super excited about a brand new resource that I want to share with you for FREE! It is a 45 minute Masterclass called: “Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. This is a video webinar training complete with guided notes and it will do exactly what the title says. This training will help you to be successful, organized and energized at school while still taking good care of yourself AND your family! Does that sound too good to be true? Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/winning  to grab your free Masterclass training Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide  I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step-by-step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide! Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the
Episode 207: Overcoming The 3 Biggest Problems Caused By "Nice Guy/Nice Gal Syndrome"
2026/10/03
I know a few things about you: You care deeply about people.  You want your teachers to feel supported.  You want parents to be happy.  You want students to feel safe.  You don’t enjoy conflict, and you certainly don’t want anyone to think you are mean, unreasonable or difficult. Those are good qualities! But sometimes our desire to “be nice” prevents us from doing what leadership requires: We delay a difficult conversation.  We soften an important message until nobody understands it.  We say yes when we desperately need to say no. Today, I want to help you remain kind, caring and compassionate without allowing your need for approval to weaken your leadership. On today’s episode of the PSLP, we are going to discuss how to Overcome The 3 Biggest Problems Caused By "Nice Guy/Nice Gal Syndrome" I hope that you will listen to the podcast for your weekly dose of motivation, inspiration and PD. Thanks so much for listening and thanks for making a difference! Mark Minkus Most of my clients and students use Title II funds to pay for Parent Academy, THRIVE Academy, 1-on-1 Coaching, Private School Teacher Academy and The PSL Pro Membership! Strong teachers make strong schools. Private School Teacher Academy is the Professional Development that your teachers and students deserve! "I wholeheartedly encourage other private school leaders to invest in their staff by partnering with Mark. His webinars are an investment that will strengthen your school community long after the sessions are over!” Julie, Principal, Boise, ID I am going to help you invest in your teachers, by giving them a high-quality, low-cost series of professional development experiences: Highly practical topics, with strategies that your teachers can apply immediately On-demand video webinars Guided notes, discussion questions, teacher resources I can help you use your Title II Funds to pay for Private School Teacher Academy!  On-Demand webinars with guided notes, discussion questions and teacher resources: The 5 Keys To Having Your Best School Year Ever The Differentiation Playbook: Helping Every Student Learn Without Burning Yourself Out The 6 Habits Of An Outstanding Private School Teacher How To Better Support Students Who Have Mental Health Struggles Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/teacher to learn more! If you like the podcast, please write a review and leave a rating. Your review helps to push this content out as a suggested podcast to private school leaders all over the world. The Private School Leader Podcast has been downloaded in 75 countries and all 50 states. Thank you for listening and thanks for your review! I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks! I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week! I am really excited to share a new resource with you that I created recently. It is called The 6 Keys To Improving Your Relationship With Your Board. The most important relationship in our private schools is the one between the Board and the Head of School and I think that there is always room for improvement. This FREE guide is a 7 page pdf where I give you specific strategies to strengthen your relationships with your board members. So go www.theprivateschoolleader.com/board to grab your free guide! Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.  That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course.  Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more! I want to give you a new resource that I just created a few weeks ago. It is called: The 4 Worst Things Parents Believe About Your School And How To Change Their Minds. Have you ever gotten really frustrated when parents believe things about your school that aren’t true? I think that it is really infuriating and discouraging. Unfortunately, parent perception is reality. Well, I have created a pdf guide that will talk about 4 super problematic things that parents probably believe about your school. Most importantly, I am going to teach you how to change their minds. You can grab this FREE guide at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/believe What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.  Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help. I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1. I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale I am super excited about a brand new resource that I want to share with you for FREE! It is a 45 minute Masterclass called: “Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. This is a video webinar training complete with guided notes and it will do exactly what the title says. This training will help you to be successful, organized and energized at school while still taking good care of yourself AND your family! Does that sound too good to be true? Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/winning  to grab your free Masterclass training Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide  I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step-by-step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide! Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode207 Do you ever have “Teacher Drama” at your school? Gossip. A teacher coming to you because they can’t get along with another teacher? Well, I am excited to share with you a resource called 5 Strategies To Reduce Teacher Drama At Your School. This is a 9 page pdf that will give you strategies that will help you to actually reduce teacher drama at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/drama to grab your free guide. Please write a review of this podcast and help the algorithm push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at [email protected] Thanks!! I am excited to share a resource with you called: “How To Use Verbal Judo To Have Better Conv
Episode 206: 4 Most Common Lawsuits Filed Against Private Schools (How To Reduce Your Risk)
2026/09/26
Goldilocks. You remember the story. One bowl of porridge was too hot. Another was too cold. The third was just right. One bed was too hard. Another was too soft. The third was just right. School leaders need that same Goldilocks mindset when it comes to legal risk. On one extreme is fear. That leader imagines the worst possible outcome in every situation. Fear begins making decisions. Every conversation becomes formal and defensive.  On the other extreme is indifference. That leader says, We have never had a serious problem before. Our families love us. Everyone knows everyone here. We are a faith-based school. We are like a family. We will deal with something if it ever happens. But, good intentions are not a risk-management plan. Being a close community does not eliminate accidents, misconduct, conflict, or misunderstandings. Sometimes close communities become more vulnerable because people assume trust can replace safeguards. So I am looking for listeners to find the “Goldilocks” just-right mindset for school leaders. Not fear. Not indifference. Right in the middle. So, on today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to discuss the 4 Most Common Lawsuits Filed Against Private Schools (How To Reduce Your Risk.) I know that you are super busy, so be sure to listen while you are doing something else. I hope that you will get value from this episode as you serve and lead your school community. Thank you for taking some time out of your day to listen to the podcast! Thanks for making a difference, Mark Minkus Most of my clients and students use Title II funds to pay for Parent Academy, THRIVE Academy, 1-on-1 Coaching, Private School Teacher Academy and The PSL Pro Membership! Strong teachers make strong schools. Private School Teacher Academy is the Professional Development that your teachers and students deserve! "I wholeheartedly encourage other private school leaders to invest in their staff by partnering with Mark. His webinars are an investment that will strengthen your school community long after the sessions are over!” Julie, Principal, Boise, ID I am going to help you invest in your teachers, by giving them a high-quality, low-cost series of professional development experiences: Highly practical topics, with strategies that your teachers can apply immediately On-demand video webinars Guided notes, discussion questions, teacher resources I can help you use your Title II Funds to pay for Private School Teacher Academy!  On-Demand webinars with guided notes, discussion questions and teacher resources: The 5 Keys To Having Your Best School Year Ever The Differentiation Playbook: Helping Every Student Learn Without Burning Yourself Out The 6 Habits Of An Outstanding Private School Teacher How To Better Support Students Who Have Mental Health Struggles Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/teacher to learn more! If you like the podcast, please write a review and leave a rating. Your review helps to push this content out as a suggested podcast to private school leaders all over the world. The Private School Leader Podcast has been downloaded in 75 countries and all 50 states. Thank you for listening and thanks for your review! I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks! I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week! I am really excited to share a new resource with you that I created recently. It is called The 6 Keys To Improving Your Relationship With Your Board. The most important relationship in our private schools is the one between the Board and the Head of School and I think that there is always room for improvement. This FREE guide is a 7 page pdf where I give you specific strategies to strengthen your relationships with your board members. So go www.theprivateschoolleader.com/board to grab your free guide! Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.  That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course.  Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more! I want to give you a new resource that I just created a few weeks ago. It is called: The 4 Worst Things Parents Believe About Your School And How To Change Their Minds. Have you ever gotten really frustrated when parents believe things about your school that aren’t true? I think that it is really infuriating and discouraging. Unfortunately, parent perception is reality. Well, I have created a pdf guide that will talk about 4 super problematic things that parents probably believe about your school. Most importantly, I am going to teach you how to change their minds. You can grab this FREE guide at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/believe What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.  Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help. I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1. I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale I am super excited about a brand new resource that I want to share with you for FREE! It is a 45 minute Masterclass called: “Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. This is a video webinar training complete with guided notes and it will do exactly what the title says. This training will help you to be successful, organized and energized at school while still taking good care of yourself AND your family! Does that sound too good to be true? Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/winning  to grab your free Masterclass training Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide  I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step-by-step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide! Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode205 Do you ever have “Teacher Drama” at your school? Gossip. A teacher coming to you because they can’t get along with another teacher? Well, I am excited to share with you a resource called 5 Strategies To Reduce Teacher Drama At Your School. This is a 9 page pdf that will give you
Episode 205: Parents Can Handle Bad News WAY Better Than Surprise News
2026/09/19
I don’t like surprises.  I know some people love them. They love walking into a room and hearing everybody yell, "Surprise!" They love mystery trips where somebody else packs the car and refuses to tell them where they are going. Not me. I think most private school leaders don’t like surprises either.  We do not like walking into school on Monday morning and discovering that the heating system failed over the weekend. We do not enjoy learning at 7:42AM that the substitute never received the assignment.  Parents don’t like surprises either. A parent may not be happy to hear that their child is failing Algebra. A parent may be upset to learn that a child has been unkind to classmates. But, you want to know what is WAY worse? When the first time the parent learns about the failing grade is the report card or at Parent-Teacher Conferences.  Now the parent has two problems. They have the bad news, and they have the surprise. And usually the surprise becomes the bigger problem. So, on today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to discuss why Parents Can Handle Bad News WAY Better Than Surprise News. Thank you for listening to the podcast every week. You are making a difference in the lives of the students, teachers and parents at your school. I know that what you do is difficult, exhausting and lonely. Your hard work inspires me to keep making weekly content to try to encourage and inspire you as you serve your school. Thanks for all you do, Mark Minkus Most of my clients and students use Title II funds to pay for Parent Academy, THRIVE Academy, 1-on-1 Coaching, Private School Teacher Academy and The PSL Pro Membership! Strong teachers make strong schools. Private School Teacher Academy is the Professional Development that your teachers and students deserve! "I wholeheartedly encourage other private school leaders to invest in their staff by partnering with Mark. His webinars are an investment that will strengthen your school community long after the sessions are over!” Julie, Principal, Boise, ID I am going to help you invest in your teachers, by giving them a high-quality, low-cost series of professional development experiences: Highly practical topics, with strategies that your teachers can apply immediately On-demand video webinars Guided notes, discussion questions, teacher resources I can help you use your Title II Funds to pay for Private School Teacher Academy!  On-Demand webinars with guided notes, discussion questions and teacher resources: The 5 Keys To Having Your Best School Year Ever The Differentiation Playbook: Helping Every Student Learn Without Burning Yourself Out The 6 Habits Of An Outstanding Private School Teacher How To Better Support Students Who Have Mental Health Struggles Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/teacher to learn more! If you like the podcast, please write a review and leave a rating. Your review helps to push this content out as a suggested podcast to private school leaders all over the world. The Private School Leader Podcast has been downloaded in 75 countries and all 50 states. Thank you for listening and thanks for your review! I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks! I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week! I am really excited to share a new resource with you that I created recently. It is called The 6 Keys To Improving Your Relationship With Your Board. The most important relationship in our private schools is the one between the Board and the Head of School and I think that there is always room for improvement. This FREE guide is a 7 page pdf where I give you specific strategies to strengthen your relationships with your board members. So go www.theprivateschoolleader.com/board to grab your free guide! Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.  That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course.  Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more! I want to give you a new resource that I just created a few weeks ago. It is called: The 4 Worst Things Parents Believe About Your School And How To Change Their Minds. Have you ever gotten really frustrated when parents believe things about your school that aren’t true? I think that it is really infuriating and discouraging. Unfortunately, parent perception is reality. Well, I have created a pdf guide that will talk about 4 super problematic things that parents probably believe about your school. Most importantly, I am going to teach you how to change their minds. You can grab this FREE guide at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/believe What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.  Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help. I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1. I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale I am super excited about a brand new resource that I want to share with you for FREE! It is a 45 minute Masterclass called: “Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. This is a video webinar training complete with guided notes and it will do exactly what the title says. This training will help you to be successful, organized and energized at school while still taking good care of yourself AND your family! Does that sound too good to be true? Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/winning  to grab your free Masterclass training Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide  I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step-by-step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide! Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode205 Do you ever have “Teacher Drama” at your school? Gossip. A teacher coming to you because they can’t get along with another teacher? Well, I am excited to share with you a resource called 5 Strategies To Reduce Teacher Drama At Your School. This is a 9 page pdf that will give you strategies that will help you to actually reduce tea
Episode 204: Are you leaving Title II money on the table every year?
2026/09/12
Have you ever been in a meeting and heard one of these phrases? “We need to circle back on that.” “Let’s put a pin in it. “We need to think outside the box.” “We need to find the low-hanging fruit.” “Let’s make sure everybody is on the same page.” “We need to touch base.” “We don't want to leave any money on the table.” That last one actually matters a lot. There is a good chance that you might be leaving some money on the table. Money that may already be available to help pay for professional development for you and your teachers. You might be too busy to access it. You might think that the process is too complicated. You might have had a bad experience at some point in the past when you were trying to use it. That’s OK, I am going to help you. On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to answer the question: “Are you leaving Title II money on the table every year?” Thank you for taking me along with you when you are walking the dog, driving to school or running errands. I appreciate you and what you are doing for the lucky kids and teachers at your school. Thanks so much for listening and thanks for making a difference! Mark Minkus Most of my clients and students use Title II funds to pay for Parent Academy, THRIVE Academy, 1-on-1 Coaching, Private School Teacher Academy and The PSL Pro Membership! Strong teachers make strong schools. Private School Teacher Academy is the Professional Development that your teachers and students deserve! "I wholeheartedly encourage other private school leaders to invest in their staff by partnering with Mark. His webinars are an investment that will strengthen your school community long after the sessions are over!” Julie, Principal, Boise, ID I am going to help you invest in your teachers, by giving them a high-quality, low-cost series of professional development experiences: Highly practical topics, with strategies that your teachers can apply immediately On-demand video webinars Guided notes, discussion questions, teacher resources I can help you use your Title II Funds to pay for Private School Teacher Academy!  On-Demand webinars with guided notes, discussion questions and teacher resources: The 5 Keys To Having Your Best School Year Ever The Differentiation Playbook: Helping Every Student Learn Without Burning Yourself Out The 6 Habits Of An Outstanding Private School Teacher How To Better Support Students Who Have Mental Health Struggles Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/teacher to learn more! If you like the podcast, please write a review and leave a rating. Your review helps to push this content out as a suggested podcast to private school leaders all over the world. The Private School Leader Podcast has been downloaded in 72 countries and all 50 states. Thank you for listening and thanks for your review! I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks! I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week! I am really excited to share a new resource with you that I created recently. It is called The 6 Keys To Improving Your Relationship With Your Board. The most important relationship in our private schools is the one between the Board and the Head of School and I think that there is always room for improvement. This FREE guide is a 7 page pdf where I give you specific strategies to strengthen your relationships with your board members. So go www.theprivateschoolleader.com/board to grab your free guide! Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.  That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course.  Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more! I want to give you a new resource that I just created a few weeks ago. It is called: The 4 Worst Things Parents Believe About Your School And How To Change Their Minds. Have you ever gotten really frustrated when parents believe things about your school that aren’t true? I think that it is really infuriating and discouraging. Unfortunately, parent perception is reality. Well, I have created a pdf guide that will talk about 4 super problematic things that parents probably believe about your school. Most importantly, I am going to teach you how to change their minds. You can grab this FREE guide at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/believe What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.  Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help. I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1. I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale I am super excited about a brand new resource that I want to share with you for FREE! It is a 45 minute Masterclass called: “Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. This is a video webinar training complete with guided notes and it will do exactly what the title says. This training will help you to be successful, organized and energized at school while still taking good care of yourself AND your family! Does that sound too good to be true? Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/winning  to grab your free Masterclass training Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide  I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step-by-step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide! Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode204 Do you ever have “Teacher Drama” at your school? Gossip. A teacher coming to you because they can’t get along with another teacher? Well, I am excited to share with you a resource called 5 Strategies To Reduce Teacher Drama At Your School. This is a 9 page pdf that will give you strategies that will help you to actually reduce teacher drama at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/drama to grab your free guide. Please write a review of this podcast and help the algorithm push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how
Episode 203: 4 Keys To Making Your Weeknights And Weekends More Restorative
2026/09/05
I think that there’s a pretty good chance that this has happened to you: You finally get to Friday afternoon. You’re exhausted. You tell yourself, “I just need the weekend to get back on traffic.” And then somehow you get to Sunday night and think... “Wait a minute. Where did the weekend go? And why am I still tired?” Or maybe you leave school at 5:00 on a Tuesday… but mentally, you never really leave.  You’re checking email while you’re eating dinner.  You’re thinking about tomorrow’s parent meeting while you’re watching TV.  You see a notification on your phone and suddenly you’re right back at school even though you’re sitting on your couch. Here are two things that I have found to be true:  Being away from school is not the same thing as recovering from school. You can physically leave the building without ever mentally leaving the job. If you want to be a great leader that does this for a long time, you need more than time away from school. You need time that actually restores you. On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, I am going to give you the 4 Keys To Making Your Weeknights And Weekends More Restorative I hope that you will listen to the podcast for your weekly dose of motivation, inspiration and PD. Thanks so much for listening and thanks for making a difference! Mark Minkus Strong teachers make strong schools. Private School Teacher Academy is the Professional Development that your teachers and students deserve! "I wholeheartedly encourage other private school leaders to invest in their staff by partnering with Mark. His webinars are an investment that will strengthen your school community long after the sessions are over!” Julie, Principal, Boise, ID I am going to help you invest in your teachers, by giving them a high-quality, low-cost series of professional development experiences: Highly practical topics, with strategies that your teachers can apply immediately On-demand video webinars Guided notes, discussion questions, teacher resources I can help you use your Title II Funds to pay for Private School Teacher Academy!  On-Demand webinars with guided notes, discussion questions and teacher resources: The 5 Keys To Having Your Best School Year Ever The Differentiation Playbook: Helping Every Student Learn Without Burning Yourself Out The 6 Habits Of An Outstanding Private School Teacher How To Better Support Students Who Have Mental Health Struggles Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/teacher to learn more! If you like the podcast, please write a review and leave a rating. Your review helps to push this content out as a suggested podcast to private school leaders all over the world. The Private School Leader Podcast has been downloaded in 72 countries and all 50 states. Thank you for listening and thanks for your review! I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks! I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week! I am really excited to share a new resource with you that I created recently. It is called The 6 Keys To Improving Your Relationship With Your Board. The most important relationship in our private schools is the one between the Board and the Head of School and I think that there is always room for improvement. This FREE guide is a 7 page pdf where I give you specific strategies to strengthen your relationships with your board members. So go www.theprivateschoolleader.com/board to grab your free guide! Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.  That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course.  Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more! I want to give you a new resource that I just created a few weeks ago. It is called: The 4 Worst Things Parents Believe About Your School And How To Change Their Minds. Have you ever gotten really frustrated when parents believe things about your school that aren’t true? I think that it is really infuriating and discouraging. Unfortunately, parent perception is reality. Well, I have created a pdf guide that will talk about 4 super problematic things that parents probably believe about your school. Most importantly, I am going to teach you how to change their minds. You can grab this FREE guide at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/believe What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.  Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help. I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1. I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale I am super excited about a brand new resource that I want to share with you for FREE! It is a 45 minute Masterclass called: “Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. This is a video webinar training complete with guided notes and it will do exactly what the title says. This training will help you to be successful, organized and energized at school while still taking good care of yourself AND your family! Does that sound too good to be true? Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/winning  to grab your free Masterclass training Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide  I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step-by-step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide! Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode203 Do you ever have “Teacher Drama” at your school? Gossip. A teacher coming to you because they can’t get along with another teacher? Well, I am excited to share with you a resource called 5 Strategies To Reduce Teacher Drama At Your School. This is a 9 page pdf that will give you strategies that will help you to actually reduce teacher drama at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/drama to grab your free guide. Please write a review of this podcast and help the algorithm push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing thes
Episode 202: You're The Chief Optimism Officer (Even When You Don't Feel Like It)
2026/08/29
In the corporate world, there are many recognizable acronyms that are thrown around pretty freely. CEO, ROI, MBA, CFO, EOD, R&D and PTO are known by most employees and leaders in the business world.  A company’s COO is the Chief Operating Officer. Their job is to make sure the organization keeps running. But, for private school leaders, I believe that COO has a second meaning. You're also the Chief Optimism Officer and part of your job is to make sure that hope is alive and well at your school, regardless of the circumstances. On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, I want to remind you that You're The Chief Optimism Officer (Even When You Don't Feel Like It.) I know that you are super busy, so be sure to listen while you are doing something else. I hope that you will get value from this episode as you serve and lead your school community. Thank you for taking some time out of your day to listen to the podcast! Thanks for making a difference, Mark Minkus Strong teachers make strong schools. Private School Teacher Academy is the Professional Development that your teachers and students deserve! "I wholeheartedly encourage other private school leaders to invest in their staff by partnering with Mark. His webinars are an investment that will strengthen your school community long after the sessions are over!” Julie, Principal, Boise, ID I am going to help you invest in your teachers, by giving them a high-quality, low-cost series of professional development experiences: Highly practical topics, with strategies that your teachers can apply immediately On-demand video webinars Guided notes, discussion questions, teacher resources I can help you use your Title II Funds to pay for Private School Teacher Academy!  On-Demand webinars with guided notes, discussion questions and teacher resources: The 5 Keys To Having Your Best School Year Ever The Differentiation Playbook: Helping Every Student Learn Without Burning Yourself Out The 6 Habits Of An Outstanding Private School Teacher How To Better Support Students Who Have Mental Health Struggles Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/teacher to learn more! If you like the podcast, please write a review and leave a rating. Your review helps to push this content out as a suggested podcast to private school leaders all over the world. The Private School Leader Podcast has been downloaded in 72 countries and all 50 states. Thank you for listening and thanks for your review! I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks! I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week! I am really excited to share a new resource with you that I created recently. It is called The 6 Keys To Improving Your Relationship With Your Board. The most important relationship in our private schools is the one between the Board and the Head of School and I think that there is always room for improvement. This FREE guide is a 7 page pdf where I give you specific strategies to strengthen your relationships with your board members. So go www.theprivateschoolleader.com/board to grab your free guide! Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.  That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course.  Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more! I want to give you a new resource that I just created a few weeks ago. It is called: The 4 Worst Things Parents Believe About Your School And How To Change Their Minds. Have you ever gotten really frustrated when parents believe things about your school that aren’t true? I think that it is really infuriating and discouraging. Unfortunately, parent perception is reality. Well, I have created a pdf guide that will talk about 4 super problematic things that parents probably believe about your school. Most importantly, I am going to teach you how to change their minds. You can grab this FREE guide at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/believe What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.  Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help. I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1. I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale I am super excited about a brand new resource that I want to share with you for FREE! It is a 45 minute Masterclass called: “Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. This is a video webinar training complete with guided notes and it will do exactly what the title says. This training will help you to be successful, organized and energized at school while still taking good care of yourself AND your family! Does that sound too good to be true? Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/winning  to grab your free Masterclass training Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide  I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step-by-step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide! Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode202 Do you ever have “Teacher Drama” at your school? Gossip. A teacher coming to you because they can’t get along with another teacher? Well, I am excited to share with you a resource called 5 Strategies To Reduce Teacher Drama At Your School. This is a 9 page pdf that will give you strategies that will help you to actually reduce teacher drama at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/drama to grab your free guide. Please write a review of this podcast and help the algorithm push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at [email protected] Thanks!! I am excited to share a resource with you called: “How To Use Verbal Judo To Have Better Conversations With The Parents At Your School” What is “Verbal Judo”? "Verbal Judo" is a communication strategy that focuses on using words effectively to de-escalate conflict, r
Episode 201: The Top 20 Leadership Lessons From The First 200 Episodes (Part 2)
2026/08/22
You probably already know that I love a good list and I especially love a list that is a countdown. During my teen years, I would tune into Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 Countdown every Saturday night. Of course, I had my cassette player and a blank tape at the ready to record my favorite songs. On last week’s episode, we celebrated the 200th episode of this podcast by counting down the Top 20 Leadership Lessons From The First 200 Episodes. In Episode 200, I gave you leadership lessons #20 through #11. Today, you get the Top 10! On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, I am going to give you The Top 20 Leadership Lessons From The First 200 Episodes (Part 2). Thank you for listening to the podcast every week. You are making a difference in the lives of the students, teachers and parents at your school. I know that what you do is difficult, exhausting and lonely. Your hard work inspires me to keep making weekly content to try to encourage and inspire you as you serve your school. Thanks for all you do, Mark Minkus Strong teachers make strong schools. Private School Teacher Academy is the Professional Development that your teachers and students deserve! "I wholeheartedly encourage other private school leaders to invest in their staff by partnering with Mark. His webinars are an investment that will strengthen your school community long after the sessions are over!” Julie, Principal, Boise, ID I am going to help you invest in your teachers, by giving them a high-quality, low-cost series of professional development experiences: Highly practical topics, with strategies that your teachers can apply immediately On-demand video webinars Guided notes, discussion questions, teacher resources I can help you use your Title II Funds to pay for Private School Teacher Academy!  On-Demand webinars with guided notes, discussion questions and teacher resources: The 5 Keys To Having Your Best School Year Ever The Differentiation Playbook: Helping Every Student Learn Without Burning Yourself Out The 6 Habits Of An Outstanding Private School Teacher How To Better Support Students Who Have Mental Health Struggles Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/teacher to learn more! If you like the podcast, please write a review and leave a rating. Your review helps to push this content out as a suggested podcast to private school leaders all over the world. The Private School Leader Podcast has been downloaded in 72 countries and all 50 states. Thank you for listening and thanks for your review! I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks! I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week! I am really excited to share a new resource with you that I created recently. It is called The 6 Keys To Improving Your Relationship With Your Board. The most important relationship in our private schools is the one between the Board and the Head of School and I think that there is always room for improvement. This FREE guide is a 7 page pdf where I give you specific strategies to strengthen your relationships with your board members. So go www.theprivateschoolleader.com/board to grab your free guide! Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.  That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course.  Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more! I want to give you a new resource that I just created a few weeks ago. It is called: The 4 Worst Things Parents Believe About Your School And How To Change Their Minds. Have you ever gotten really frustrated when parents believe things about your school that aren’t true? I think that it is really infuriating and discouraging. Unfortunately, parent perception is reality. Well, I have created a pdf guide that will talk about 4 super problematic things that parents probably believe about your school. Most importantly, I am going to teach you how to change their minds. You can grab this FREE guide at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/believe What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.  Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help. I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1. I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale I am super excited about a brand new resource that I want to share with you for FREE! It is a 45 minute Masterclass called: “Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. This is a video webinar training complete with guided notes and it will do exactly what the title says. This training will help you to be successful, organized and energized at school while still taking good care of yourself AND your family! Does that sound too good to be true? Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/winning  to grab your free Masterclass training Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide  I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step-by-step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide! Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode201 Do you ever have “Teacher Drama” at your school? Gossip. A teacher coming to you because they can’t get along with another teacher? Well, I am excited to share with you a resource called 5 Strategies To Reduce Teacher Drama At Your School. This is a 9 page pdf that will give you strategies that will help you to actually reduce teacher drama at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/drama to grab your free guide. Please write a review of this podcast and help the algorithm push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at [email protected] Thanks!! I am excited to share a resource with you called: “How To Use Verbal Judo To Have Better Conversations With The Parents At Your School” What is “Verbal Judo”? "Verbal Judo" is a communication strategy that fo
Episode 200: The Top 20 Leadership Lessons From The First 200 Episodes
2026/08/15
During the COVID-19 pandemic, billions of people worldwide were stuck in their homes. Some learned how to make sourdough bread and some people got a pet for the first time. Indoor houseplants had a moment and lots of people finally learned how to keep a plant alive.  During my time at home I decided that I wanted to start a podcast.  I had spent a lot of time reflecting on my career and especially on my struggles. I knew what it felt like to have four ulcers and vertigo because my job was so stressful. I knew what it was like to have one of my daughters say, “Dad, when do we get to see you instead of the back of your laptop?” I decided that I wanted to help other private school leaders avoid the mistakes that I had made. Now, here we are 200 episodes later, with downloads in 75 countries and all 50 states! I want to say “thank you” to those of you that have been listening since the beginning. I want to say “welcome” to those of you that just found the podcast this week.   I want to celebrate the 200th episode with you. So, on today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, I am going to give you The Top 20 Leadership Lessons From The First 200 Episodes. Thank you for taking me along with you when you are walking the dog, driving to school or running errands. I appreciate you and what you are doing for the lucky kids and teachers at your school. Thanks so much for listening and thanks for making a difference! Mark Minkus Strong teachers make strong schools. Private School Teacher Academy is the Professional Development that your teachers and students deserve! "I wholeheartedly encourage other private school leaders to invest in their staff by partnering with Mark. His webinars are an investment that will strengthen your school community long after the sessions are over!” Julie, Principal, Boise, ID I am going to help you invest in your teachers, by giving them a high-quality, low-cost series of professional development experiences: Highly practical topics, with strategies that your teachers can apply immediately On-demand video webinars Guided notes, discussion questions, teacher resources I can help you use your Title II Funds to pay for Private School Teacher Academy!  On-Demand webinars with guided notes, discussion questions and teacher resources: The 5 Keys To Having Your Best School Year Ever The Differentiation Playbook: Helping Every Student Learn Without Burning Yourself Out The 6 Habits Of An Outstanding Private School Teacher How To Better Support Students Who Have Mental Health Struggles Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/teacher to learn more! If you llke the podcast, please write a review and leave a rating. Your review helps to push this content out as a suggested podcast to private school leaders all over the world. The Private School Leader Podcast has been downloaded in 72 countries and all 50 states. Thank you for listening and thanks for your review! I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks! I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week! I am really excited to share a new resource with you that I created recently. It is called The 6 Keys To Improving Your Relationship With Your Board. The most important relationship in our private schools is the one between the Board and the Head of School and I think that there is always room for improvement. This FREE guide is a 7 page pdf where I give you specific strategies to strengthen your relationships with your board members. So go www.theprivateschoolleader.com/board to grab your free guide! Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.  That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course.  Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more! I want to give you a new resource that I just created a few weeks ago. It is called: The 4 Worst Things Parents Believe About Your School And How To Change Their Minds. Have you ever gotten really frustrated when parents believe things about your school that aren’t true? I think that it is really infuriating and discouraging. Unfortunately, parent perception is reality. Well, I have created a pdf guide that will talk about 4 super problematic things that parents probably believe about your school. Most importantly, I am going to teach you how to change their minds. You can grab this FREE guide at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/believe What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.  Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help. I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1. I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale I am super excited about a brand new resource that I want to share with you for FREE! It is a 45 minute Masterclass called: “Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. This is a video webinar training complete with guided notes and it will do exactly what the title says. This training will help you to be successful, organized and energized at school while still taking good care of yourself AND your family! Does that sound too good to be true? Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/winning  to grab your free Masterclass training Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide  I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step-by-step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide! Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode200 Do you ever have “Teacher Drama” at your school? Gossip. A teacher coming to you because they can’t get along with another teacher? Well, I am excited to share with you a resource called 5 Strategies To Reduce Teacher Drama At Your School. This is a 9 page pdf that will give you strategies that will help you to actually reduce teacher drama at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/drama to grab your free guide. Please write a review of this podcast and help the algorithm push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get
Episode 199: OREO Cookies Can Help You Tame Your Email Inbox
2026/08/08
Has this ever happened to you? You are out and about in the school and you come back to your office. While you were out of your office, you expended emotional energy and now you are feeling some decision fatigue and some physical fatigue. You sit down at your desk. Because of the physical and mental fatigue, your brain is screaming for a hit of dopamine. You click on the tab for your inbox and you start responding to emails. If the above scenario has happened to you, you are in good company. About 90% of private school leaders do this multiple times a day. Unfortunately, you have just fallen into the “false productivity trap.” I have said many times: “Your email inbox is a chronological list of everyone else’s priorities.” The “trap” is that you are feeling productive, you get the dopamine hit, but you are working on other people’s tasks. I want to give you an unorthodox framework that will keep you from dipping in and out of your email inbox all day long. In today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to discuss how OREO Cookies Can Help You Tame Your Email Inbox I hope that you will listen to the podcast for your weekly dose of motivation, inspiration and PD. Thanks so much for listening and thanks for making a difference! Mark Minkus Strong teachers make strong schools. Private School Teacher Academy is the Professional Development that your teachers and students deserve! "I wholeheartedly encourage other private school leaders to invest in their staff by partnering with Mark. His webinars are an investment that will strengthen your school community long after the sessions are over!” Julie, Principal, Boise, ID I am going to help you invest in your teachers, by giving them a high-quality, low-cost series of professional development experiences: Highly practical topics, with strategies that your teachers can apply immediately On-demand video webinars Guided notes, discussion questions, teacher resources I can help you use your Title II Funds to pay for Private School Teacher Academy!  On-Demand webinars with guided notes, discussion questions and teacher resources: The 5 Keys To Having Your Best School Year Ever The Differentiation Playbook: Helping Every Student Learn Without Burning Yourself Out The 6 Habits Of An Outstanding Private School Teacher How To Better Support Students Who Have Mental Health Struggles Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/teacher to learn more! If you like the podcast, please write a review and leave a rating. Your review helps to push this content out as a suggested podcast to private school leaders all over the world. The Private School Leader Podcast has been downloaded in 72 countries and all 50 states. Thank you for listening and thanks for your review! I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks! I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week! I am really excited to share a new resource with you that I created recently. It is called The 6 Keys To Improving Your Relationship With Your Board. The most important relationship in our private schools is the one between the Board and the Head of School and I think that there is always room for improvement. This FREE guide is a 7 page pdf where I give you specific strategies to strengthen your relationships with your board members. So go www.theprivateschoolleader.com/board to grab your free guide! Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.  That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course.  Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more! I want to give you a new resource that I just created a few weeks ago. It is called: The 4 Worst Things Parents Believe About Your School And How To Change Their Minds. Have you ever gotten really frustrated when parents believe things about your school that aren’t true? I think that it is really infuriating and discouraging. Unfortunately, parent perception is reality. Well, I have created a pdf guide that will talk about 4 super problematic things that parents probably believe about your school. Most importantly, I am going to teach you how to change their minds. You can grab this FREE guide at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/believe What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.  Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help. I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1. I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale I am super excited about a brand new resource that I want to share with you for FREE! It is a 45 minute Masterclass called: “Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. This is a video webinar training complete with guided notes and it will do exactly what the title says. This training will help you to be successful, organized and energized at school while still taking good care of yourself AND your family! Does that sound too good to be true? Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/winning  to grab your free Masterclass training Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide  I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step-by-step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide! Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode199 Do you ever have “Teacher Drama” at your school? Gossip. A teacher coming to you because they can’t get along with another teacher? Well, I am excited to share with you a resource called 5 Strategies To Reduce Teacher Drama At Your School. This is a 9 page pdf that will give you strategies that will help you to actually reduce teacher drama at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/drama to grab your free guide. Please write a review of this podcast and help the algorithm push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at
Episode 198: A Great School Year Rarely Happens By Accident (Do These 3 Things On Purpose)
2026/08/01
In 1928, Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming returned from vacation to find that one of his petri dishes had accidentally become contaminated with mold. Normally, that would have meant throwing the dish away and starting over. But, Fleming noticed something unusual. The bacteria surrounding the mold had died, while bacteria farther away continued to grow. He became curious and asked, "Why?" That mold, Penicillium notatum, contained a natural substance capable of killing many harmful bacteria. Fleming had accidentally discovered penicillin, the world's first widely used antibiotic. Years later, scientists developed a way to mass-produce penicillin, and it went on to save millions of lives, especially during World War II. What looked like a ruined experiment turned out to be one of the greatest medical breakthroughs in history. Penicillin, the microwave oven, the Post-it Note and chocolate chip cookies are just a few examples of some pretty amazing things in this world that happened completely by accident. But, having a great school year by accident almost never happens. In today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to discuss how A Great School Year Rarely Happens By Accident (Do These 3 Things On Purpose.) I know that you are super busy, so be sure to listen while you are doing something else. I hope that you will get value from this episode as you serve and lead your school community. Thank you for taking some time out of your day to listen to the podcast! Thanks for making a difference, Mark Minkus Strong teachers make strong schools. Private School Teacher Academy is the Professional Development that your teachers and students deserve! "I wholeheartedly encourage other private school leaders to invest in their staff by partnering with Mark. His webinars are an investment that will strengthen your school community long after the sessions are over!” Julie, Principal, Boise, ID I am going to help you invest in your teachers, by giving them a high-quality, low-cost series of professional development experiences: Highly practical topics, with strategies that your teachers can apply immediately On-demand video webinars Guided notes, discussion questions, teacher resources I can help you use your Title II Funds to pay for Private School Teacher Academy!  On-Demand webinars with guided notes, discussion questions and teacher resources: The 5 Keys To Having Your Best School Year Ever The Differentiation Playbook: Helping Every Student Learn Without Burning Yourself Out The 6 Habits Of An Outstanding Private School Teacher How To Better Support Students Who Have Mental Health Struggles Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/teacher to learn more! If you like the podcast, please write a review and leave a rating. Your review helps to push this content out as a suggested podcast to private school leaders all over the world. The Private School Leader Podcast has been downloaded in 72 countries and all 50 states. Thank you for listening and thanks for your review! I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks! I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week! I am really excited to share a new resource with you that I created recently. It is called The 6 Keys To Improving Your Relationship With Your Board. The most important relationship in our private schools is the one between the Board and the Head of School and I think that there is always room for improvement. This FREE guide is a 7 page pdf where I give you specific strategies to strengthen your relationships with your board members. So go www.theprivateschoolleader.com/board to grab your free guide! Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.  That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course.  Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more! I want to give you a new resource that I just created a few weeks ago. It is called: The 4 Worst Things Parents Believe About Your School And How To Change Their Minds. Have you ever gotten really frustrated when parents believe things about your school that aren’t true? I think that it is really infuriating and discouraging. Unfortunately, parent perception is reality. Well, I have created a pdf guide that will talk about 4 super problematic things that parents probably believe about your school. Most importantly, I am going to teach you how to change their minds. You can grab this FREE guide at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/believe What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.  Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help. I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1. I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale I am super excited about a brand new resource that I want to share with you for FREE! It is a 45 minute Masterclass called: “Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. This is a video webinar training complete with guided notes and it will do exactly what the title says. This training will help you to be successful, organized and energized at school while still taking good care of yourself AND your family! Does that sound too good to be true? Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/winning  to grab your free Masterclass training Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide  I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step-by-step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide! Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode198 Do you ever have “Teacher Drama” at your school? Gossip. A teacher coming to you because they can’t get along with another teacher? Well, I am excited to share with you a resource called 5 Strategies To Reduce Teacher Drama At Your School. This is a 9 page pdf that will give you strategies that will help you to actually reduce teacher drama at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/drama to grab your free guide. Please write a review of this podc
Episode 197: 3 Strategies To Feel Less Overwhelmed AND Get Everything Done Before The First Day Of School
2026/07/25
Has this ever happened to you? You looked at your to-do list in late July or early August and thought: "There is absolutely no way I'm going to get all of this done." You walk into the school and there are boxes of new curriculum stacked in the hallway, waiting to be unpacked, an employee handbook that needs to be revised, welcome back emails that need to be sent, two more teachers that need to be hired, Teacher In-Service Days that need to be planned, class lists that need to be finalized and maintenance requests that need to be sent. And all of that happens before 10AM on a Tuesday. If that's where you are today, I want you to know two things. First, you're not alone. Almost every school leader I coach feels this way during the last few weeks before school starts. And second, I am going to help make it better. In today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, I am going to give you 3 Strategies To Feel Less Overwhelmed AND Get Everything Done Before The First Day Of School. Thank you for listening to the podcast every week. You are making a difference in the lives of the students, teachers and parents at your school. I know that what you do is difficult, exhausting and lonely. Your hard work inspires me to keep making weekly content to try to encourage and inspire you as you serve your school. Thanks for all you do, Mark Minkus PS. In this episode, I talk about a Chat GTP prompt that you can copy and paste. Here it is:  "Below, I have pasted all of my undone tasks between now and the first day of school. Please organize these tasks into priority order. Put tasks requiring shipping or delivery near the top. Put tasks requiring responses from other people near the top. Estimate how long each task will take. Then create a daily work schedule for the weekdays between today and the first day of school on (date) that will help me finish everything. Paste task list here:" Strong teachers make strong schools. Private School Teacher Academy is the Professional Development that your teachers and students deserve! "I wholeheartedly encourage other private school leaders to invest in their staff by partnering with Mark. His webinars are an investment that will strengthen your school community long after the sessions are over!” Julie, Principal, Boise, ID I am going to help you invest in your teachers, by giving them a high-quality, low-cost series of professional development experiences: Highly practical topics, with strategies that your teachers can apply immediately On-demand video webinars Guided notes, discussion questions, teacher resources I can help you use your Title II Funds to pay for Private School Teacher Academy!  On-Demand webinars with guided notes, discussion questions and teacher resources: The 5 Keys To Having Your Best School Year Ever The Differentiation Playbook: Helping Every Student Learn Without Burning Yourself Out The 6 Habits Of An Outstanding Private School Teacher How To Better Support Students Who Have Mental Health Struggles Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/teacher to learn more! If you like the podcast, please write a review and leave a rating. Your review helps to push this content out as a suggested podcast to private school leaders all over the world. The Private School Leader Podcast has been downloaded in 72 countries and all 50 states. Thank you for listening and thanks for your review! I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks! I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week! I am really excited to share a new resource with you that I created recently. It is called The 6 Keys To Improving Your Relationship With Your Board. The most important relationship in our private schools is the one between the Board and the Head of School and I think that there is always room for improvement. This FREE guide is a 7 page pdf where I give you specific strategies to strengthen your relationships with your board members. So go www.theprivateschoolleader.com/board to grab your free guide! Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.  That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course.  Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more! I want to give you a new resource that I just created a few weeks ago. It is called: The 4 Worst Things Parents Believe About Your School And How To Change Their Minds. Have you ever gotten really frustrated when parents believe things about your school that aren’t true? I think that it is really infuriating and discouraging. Unfortunately, parent perception is reality. Well, I have created a pdf guide that will talk about 4 super problematic things that parents probably believe about your school. Most importantly, I am going to teach you how to change their minds. You can grab this FREE guide at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/believe What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.  Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help. I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1. I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale I am super excited about a brand new resource that I want to share with you for FREE! It is a 45 minute Masterclass called: “Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. This is a video webinar training complete with guided notes and it will do exactly what the title says. This training will help you to be successful, organized and energized at school while still taking good care of yourself AND your family! Does that sound too good to be true? Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/winning  to grab your free Masterclass training Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide  I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step-by-step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide! Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode197 Do you ever have “Teacher Drama” at your school? Gossip. A teacher coming to you because they can’t g
Episode 196: 4 Ways To Improve Your August Teacher In-Service Days
2026/07/18
I love countdown clocks and I hate countdown clocks. I love countdown clocks like the one in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. I hate countdown clocks like the scoreboard in the 4th Quarter when my favorite football team is losing. I believe that every private school leader has an invisible countdown clock that nobody else can see. The countdown starts somewhere around the Fourth of July. It speeds up after the first day of August. It hits zero on the morning of your first teacher in-service day. You have good intentions about having really awesome Teacher In-Service Days. But, you have too much to do and not enough time to do it. I want to help you out with that. On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, I am going to tell you 4 Ways To Improve Your August Teacher In-Service Days. Thank you for taking me along with you when you are walking the dog, driving to school or running errands. I appreciate you and what you are doing for the lucky kids and teachers at your school. Thanks so much for listening and thanks for making a difference! Mark Minkus If you like the podcast, please write a review and leave a rating. Your review helps to push this content out as a suggested podcast to private school leaders all over the world. The Private School Leader Podcast has been downloaded in 72 countries and all 50 states. Thank you for listening and thanks for your review! I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks! I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week! I am really excited to share a new resource with you that I created recently. It is called The 6 Keys To Improving Your Relationship With Your Board. The most important relationship in our private schools is the one between the Board and the Head of School and I think that there is always room for improvement. This FREE guide is a 7 page pdf where I give you specific strategies to strengthen your relationships with your board members. So go www.theprivateschoolleader.com/board to grab your free guide! Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.  That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course.  Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more! I want to give you a new resource that I just created a few weeks ago. It is called: The 4 Worst Things Parents Believe About Your School And How To Change Their Minds. Have you ever gotten really frustrated when parents believe things about your school that aren’t true? I think that it is really infuriating and discouraging. Unfortunately, parent perception is reality. Well, I have created a pdf guide that will talk about 4 super problematic things that parents probably believe about your school. Most importantly, I am going to teach you how to change their minds. You can grab this FREE guide at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/believe What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.  Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help. I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1. I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale I am super excited about a brand new resource that I want to share with you for FREE! It is a 45 minute Masterclass called: “Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. This is a video webinar training complete with guided notes and it will do exactly what the title says. This training will help you to be successful, organized and energized at school while still taking good care of yourself AND your family! Does that sound too good to be true? Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/winning  to grab your free Masterclass training Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide  I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step-by-step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide! Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode195 Do you ever have “Teacher Drama” at your school? Gossip. A teacher coming to you because they can’t get along with another teacher? Well, I am excited to share with you a resource called 5 Strategies To Reduce Teacher Drama At Your School. This is a 9 page pdf that will give you strategies that will help you to actually reduce teacher drama at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/drama to grab your free guide. Please write a review of this podcast and help the algorithm push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at [email protected] Thanks!! I am excited to share a resource with you called: “How To Use Verbal Judo To Have Better Conversations With The Parents At Your School” What is “Verbal Judo”? "Verbal Judo" is a communication strategy that focuses on using words effectively to de-escalate conflict, resolve disputes, and achieve positive outcomes in various interpersonal interactions, particularly in high-pressure situations.  George Thompson and Jerry Jenkins wrote a book called Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art Of Persuasion. So, I have taken several important strategies from the book and applied them to your life as a private school leader. Grab your free copy of “How To Use Verbal Judo To Have Better Conversations With The Parents At Your School” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/judo
Episode 195: It's Not Too Late For You To Have A Restorative Summer
2026/07/11
One of the things I hear from my coaching clients every July is this:  "Mark, I had all these plans for the summer...and somehow it's already half over." You know what I’m talking about. You had big plans this summer. You were going to: exercise every morning, spend more time with your family, take a few days completely off, sleep in, organize your office and think strategically about the coming school year. And then reality happened. So far, your summer has been filled with hiring, making the master schedule, getting the facility ready, summer camps, finalizing the budget, touring prospective families and a board retreat. And maybe you're thinking, "Well...I guess a restorative summer just wasn't in the cards. I’ll just put my head down and outwork all of these problems and get ready for the school year" If that's where you are, I've got great news. It's not too late! On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, I am going to try to convince you that It's Not Too Late For You To Have A Restorative Summer. I hope that you will listen to the podcast for your weekly dose of motivation, inspiration and PD. Thanks so much for listening and thanks for making a difference! Mark Minkus If you like the podcast, please write a review and leave a rating. Your review helps to push this content out as a suggested podcast to private school leaders all over the world. The Private School Leader Podcast has been downloaded in 72 countries and all 50 states. Thank you for listening and thanks for your review! I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks! I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week! I am really excited to share a new resource with you that I created recently. It is called The 6 Keys To Improving Your Relationship With Your Board. The most important relationship in our private schools is the one between the Board and the Head of School and I think that there is always room for improvement. This FREE guide is a 7 page pdf where I give you specific strategies to strengthen your relationships with your board members. So go www.theprivateschoolleader.com/board to grab your free guide! Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.  That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course.  Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more! I want to give you a new resource that I just created a few weeks ago. It is called: The 4 Worst Things Parents Believe About Your School And How To Change Their Minds. Have you ever gotten really frustrated when parents believe things about your school that aren’t true? I think that it is really infuriating and discouraging. Unfortunately, parent perception is reality. Well, I have created a pdf guide that will talk about 4 super problematic things that parents probably believe about your school. Most importantly, I am going to teach you how to change their minds. You can grab this FREE guide at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/believe What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.  Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help. I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1. I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale I am super excited about a brand new resource that I want to share with you for FREE! It is a 45 minute Masterclass called: “Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. This is a video webinar training complete with guided notes and it will do exactly what the title says. This training will help you to be successful, organized and energized at school while still taking good care of yourself AND your family! Does that sound too good to be true? Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/winning  to grab your free Masterclass training Winning At School Without Losing At Home”. I want to say thank you for listening to the podcast by giving you a FREE GIFT. It is called The 7 Steps To Having Successful Meetings With Upset Parents. This guide is an 11 page pdf that gives you a step by step plan to have better meetings with the parents at your school. Every good coach has a game plan. Every good teacher has a lesson plan. Too many private school leaders don’t have a plan when they sit down to meet with an upset parent. Well, now you have a PLAN! You can grab this FREE GUIDE at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/meeting I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide  I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step-by-step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide! Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode195 Do you ever have “Teacher Drama” at your school? Gossip. A teacher coming to you because they can’t get along with another teacher? Well, I am excited to share with you a resource called 5 Strategies To Reduce Teacher Drama At Your School. This is a 9 page pdf that will give you strategies that will help you to actually reduce teacher drama at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/drama to grab your free guide. Please write a review of this podcast and help the algorithm push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at [email protected] Thanks!! I am excited to share a resource with you called: “How To Use Verbal Judo To Have Better Conversations With The Parents At Your School” What is “Verbal Judo”? "Verbal Judo" is a communication strategy that focuses on using words effectively to de-escalate conflict, resolve disputes, and achieve positive outcomes in various interpersonal interactions, particularly in high-pressure situations.  George Thompson and Jerry Jenkins wrote a book called Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art Of Persuasion. So, I have taken several important strategies from the book and applied them to your life as a private school leader. Grab your free copy of “How To Use Verbal Judo To Have Better Conversations With The Parents At Your School” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/judo

Podcast reviews

Read The Private School Leader Podcast podcast reviews


4.8 out of 5
69 reviews
★★★★★
BobcatVol 2025/07/11
Relevant and Encouraging
Mark does a great job blending experience with theory in this insightful podcast. As a head of school with 20 years of experience, I’ve appreciated bo...
★★★★★
Jolina Shue 2024/10/11
Professional Development for Principals
My superintendent sent me episode 26 when I was having a self inflicted pity party, focusing on one negative parent's opinion of me. That episode chan...
★★★★★
His snobs 2024/07/23
Worthwhile
Mark’s insight is practical and relevant for school leaders. He has walked the journey before us and shares helpful tips along the way
★★★☆☆
jbdavis 2024/02/22
Great content suuuuper long intros
I love the content, but some of the episodes are seriously 50% intro. He repeats the same things over and over and pretends like he’s going to start b...
★★★★★
Cathy from Carolina 2023/11/29
Timely!!
Mark does an outstanding job of always giving me a nugget of encouragement and caution in his weekly podcast. His information is always timely and app...
★★★★★
Momof4321 2023/10/16
Just What I Needed
As a growing private school adding a grade a year, the information in each of these podcasts are exactly what I need to hear! I’m able to finish one e...
★★★★★
Kerry Ann Masoner 2023/09/04
Relevant & Helpful
Mark is providing significant lessons and learning for educational leaders. I have implemented several ideas from his shows in just a few months. Exce...
★★★★★
AHOS Amy 2023/08/18
Excellent podcast
Mark is so thoughtful and wise. It is so affirming to hear him share his learnings, which he does with authenticity and humility. He is also deeply re...
★★★★★
Leader in the Rough 2023/07/24
Solid and Practical Advice for School Leaders
I am making my way through all of the Private School Leaders episodes. Each one has great practical, actionable wisdom that I wish I had years ago. So...
★★★★★
Doorkeeper1229 2023/07/15
Just what I needed
This podcast was recommended to me by another private school leader. Because of Mark’s words and guidance, I feel reinvigorated and joyful as a privat...
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