How to Become a Better Principal: Award Winning Principals Speak

Leadership. It is something we can learn. I’ve had some of the greatest principals and some of the worst. But here’s something ironic. Sometimes they have been the same person. If that is the case, leadership is something that can be learned. And we as leaders can be at our best or worst. But one thing is for sure, we’re never staying the same.

In Part 1 we talk about leadership and who we decide to become as a leader. First, we hear from Ronn Nozoe, the CEO of the National Principals Association (used to be NASSP), about an AI survey and the interesting notes on the schools that are doing it well. Then, we talk to the principal of the school who put Stephen Covey’s 7 habits into practice in their school, Muriel Summers. This is part 1 of a two-part series on leadership. Let’s learn.

Also, I’ll be posting part 2 on this show with an award winning middle school and high school principal. They will talk about cell phone policies, how to reach every student and help them improve, and about relationships and leading with love while improving attendance and discipline in their schools.

A note before you listen: this episode talks openly about the weight teachers and principals are carrying right now, and one segment includes an emotional story about a beloved teacher who died young. If you are struggling, please reach out to a counselor, therapist, social worker, faith leader, or your doctor.

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People and ideas referenced

• Michael Catt — Vicki’s former pastor, quoted in the opening: “Leadership is hard. It requires that you constantly self-evaluate and face up to your own shortcomings.”
• Todd Whitaker — the researcher on what the best principals do differently, including quietly consulting informal teacher leaders before a big decision.
• Liz Wiseman — multipliers versus diminishers.
• Stephen R. Covey and Sean Covey — the 7 Habits framework at the center of Muriel’s segment.
• David K. Hatch — Muriel’s co-author on Teacher Believed in Me.
• Patrick O’Neill, faculty member at Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington, Indiana — his forensic review of 14 meta-analyses on generative AI in education.
• Grace Adkins — Vicki’s second-grade teacher and mentor, who retired on her 95th birthday after 75 years of teaching and said “every child a winner.”
• Miss Rose and Miss Honey — the two teachers whose stories anchor Muriel’s segment..

Key Takeaways for Teachers

From Ronn Nozoe: leadership is a “we” thing

• Most principals are already moving on AI — and almost none feel expert. In the survey from NASSP and Vicki Davis, roughly seven in ten said they are already immersed in AI and moving forward with it. Only about 18 percent said they feel very confident leading AI implementation next year, with a little over half saying somewhat confident.
• The number one thing school leaders asked for was not money. It was time. Ronn compares it to research and development in business: schools rarely reinvest in dedicated, well-resourced planning and collaboration time, and it shows.
• Success is subtraction, not addition. Vicki names it and Ronn agrees — the next move in education is taking things off the plate, not stacking more on. He describes running an actual “off-the-plate committee” as a principal that could never take anything off, because everything felt important.
• The best ideas came from a teacher round table. Back in Hawaii, Ronn gave teacher leaders time and got out of the way. They solved problem after problem the front office could not.
• Teachers: go talk to your principal. Ronn’s direct advice is not to wait to be invited. Say the thing you can help with. Most principals do not know how their teachers actually feel until someone tells them.

From Muriel Summers: everyone in the building is a leader

• Leadership is a set of habits, and habits can be taught. Muriel heard Stephen Covey speak, went back to a struggling Title I school, and asked whether you could teach those habits to a five-year-old. The answer turned out to be yes.
• Every child has genius. That is a stated core belief at A.B. Combs, not a slogan — and once children saw their own genius recognized, disciplinary action dropped almost immediately.
• Children read three sentences on their way in every morning. Above the door: You are seen. You are known. You are loved. Ask what your students read on their way into your room.
• Students as young as five interviewed teacher candidates. They were taught how to interview, an adult sat in but did not coach, and Muriel says the children’s read on a candidate was consistently the hardest and most accurate part of the process.
• Start with what you already have. Muriel’s answer for a teacher who wants to begin tomorrow is not a purchase order — it is teaching the habits inside the books already on your shelf.

About the Guests

Ronn Nozoe

Ronn Nozoe is a lifelong educator and CEO of NASSP, an organization dedicated to advancing school leadership to transform education. Previously, he served as associate and interim executive director at ASCD and as deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, where he led initiatives in teacher quality, school safety, and rural, migrant, and Indigenous education.

In Hawaii, Nozoe served as deputy state superintendent from 2010–15, amplifying principals’ voices and leveraging state and federal funds to improve student outcomes. He has also served as a district superintendent, principal, vice principal, and teacher.

Nozoe holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa.

Connect: LinkedIn · nassp.org

Muriel Summers

From the minute she stepped into the classroom, Muriel Summers has always viewed teaching as a calling. As a principal, she twice guided her school, A.B. Combs Elementary in Raleigh, North Carolina, to being named the top magnet school of America. The school also became the original leadership school featured in FranklinCovey’s Leader in Me. The vision and strategies she and her remarkable staff developed are now being replicated in over 8,000 schools and more than seventy countries.

She bears the honor of having received several awards, including teacher of the year, principal of the year, and an honorary doctorate. She was awarded the William and Ida Friday award for Leadership in Innovation, The Order of the Long Leaf Pine given by the Governor of North Carolina (the state’s highest honor given to a North Carolinian), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Award for Leadership in Education, and the Ralph Kimmel Award, North Carolina’s highest honor for principals. She now serves as the Global Ambassador for the Leader in Me and keynotes at conferences across the US and abroad.

Connect: leaderinme.org

Coming Next Week: Leadership, Part 2 — Leading With Love

This was part one of a two-part series. Part two is Leading With Love, and it takes everything above out of theory and into a real building on a real Monday morning. Two of America’s National Principals of the Year show what it actually looks like when you lead with heart — one in a middle school where belonging is measured and tracked, one in a high school where a restorative framework cut office referrals by 69 percent. Bring a tissue for this one too.

Part two airs next week and will be added right here on this page — same link, so you can bookmark it now. Here are the two guests you’ll meet.

Sonia E. Ruiz

Sonia E. Ruiz is the Principal of Jane Addams Middle School in Bolingbrook, Illinois, where her leadership has guided the school to Exemplary Status for three years in a row. A proud Latina leader, Sonia has dedicated her career to ensuring that every student learns at high levels in safe, supportive, and inclusive school communities.

Her leadership journey spans more than two decades, beginning with her early years as a school social worker and progressing through roles as assistant principal, associate principal, and now principal. Throughout her career, she has been recognized for transforming school culture, strengthening teacher collective efficacy, and advancing equitable practices. In recognition of her impact, Sonia was honored as the 2021 Lake County IPA Assistant Principal of the Year, the 2025 Three Rivers Middle School Principal of the Year, the 2025 Illinois Middle School Principal of the Year, the 2025 Illinois NAESP National Distinguished Principal of the Year, the 2026 NASSP Illinois Middle Level Principal of the Year, and, most recently, the 2026 National Middle Level Principal of the Year.

Beyond her school community, Sonia serves the profession at both the state and national levels. She is the current Diversity and Equity Chair for the Illinois Principals Association (IPA), was appointed to the Illinois State Board of Education’s Inclusive American History Commission, and will serve on the 2025–2026 IPA State Superintendent’s Advisory Council. Nationally, she is a member of the NAESP National Task Force on Race and Equity and was selected to attend the National School Leaders Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C., in March 2025, an invitation-only gathering of principals from across the country. She also participated in the inaugural AASA Aspiring Superintendents Academy for Latina and Latino Leaders.

She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Master’s degree in School Social Work from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she also founded Gamma Phi Omega International Sorority, Inc. She later earned a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Concordia University Chicago and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Foundations at Illinois State University, with a focus on Leadership, Equity, and Inquiry.

Connect: LinkedIn · @MrsSoniaRuiz

Amanda Jamerson (AJAM the Advocate)

Amanda Jamerson, also known as AJAM the Advocate, is an accomplished educational leader and advocate recognized for advancing excellence in teaching, learning, and student support across Southeastern Wisconsin. Throughout the Greater Milwaukee area, she is known for her deep passion for serving students, families, and school communities with purpose and integrity.

Amanda currently serves as the Associate Principal of Shorewood High School, where she leads with a strong commitment to equity, growth, and excellence. She believes deeply that showing up for students and school communities is heart work, and she leads each day with purpose, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to equity and excellence. During her tenure, she designed and implemented a Restorative Actions Framework that reduced office discipline referrals by 69 percent over three years, while deepening student understanding of empathy and accountability. She also co-launched a comprehensive cell phone policy that promotes digital balance and has resulted in improved classroom focus and fewer peer conflicts.

Her impact has been recognized at both the state and national levels, as she was named Wisconsin’s Associate Principal of the Year and selected as a national finalist for NASSP’s 2026 National Assistant Principal of the Year. She went on to win that national award on April 17, 2026, becoming the 2026 National High School Assistant Principal of the Year.

Connect: LinkedIn · @ajamtheadvocate · Facebook · ajamtheadvocate.com

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