Episode 63: Assistant Principal Leadership Playbook with Dr. Sonia Matthew: Equity, School Systems & Student Achievement

A single line can change a career: “You’re not just an assistant principal.” Dr. Sonia Matthew joins us to show what that looks like when reflection, equity, and well-built systems collide to keep students in classrooms and learning at high levels. From her beginnings as a first-generation Canadian navigating language and stuttering to earning Maryland’s National Outstanding Assistant Principal of the Year, Sonia traces a journey defined by empathy, discipline, and community.

We dig into the core moves that transform culture: knowing students and families deeply, streamlining interventions to protect instructional time, and measuring what matters so effort becomes impact. Sonia explains how adaptive leadership, SEL, and adult wellness help leaders listen with purpose, build trust, and tap hidden strengths across a staff. She walks us through concrete practices, clear routines for hallways and passes, progress monitoring with teeth, and collaborative decision-making, that reduce chaos and raise achievement.

Sonia also shares how advisory councils shaped her view of policy and practice, why journaling and pattern-spotting power better decisions, and how optimism can be a strategic choice. Her nonprofit Imaginate and her forthcoming book, The Assistant Principal’s Blueprint: From Survival To Success, extend these ideas with practical tools for emerging leaders. If you’re an educator looking to sharpen systems, elevate equity, and energize your team, this conversation offers a playbook anchored in respect and results.

Listen, share with a colleague who needs a spark, and subscribe so you never miss a story that moves education forward. If the episode resonates, leave a review and tell us: which school system would you streamline first?

Connect with Dr. Sonia Matthew:

Website: https://www.drsoniaamatthew.com/

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Transcript

Meet Dr. Sonia Matthew

Principal JL 0:00

Have you thought I'm just an assistant principal? I cannot lead like that. Well, today's guest blows that perception out of the water. I am honored to welcome Dr. Sonia Matthew. She is currently the 2025 Maryland's National Outstanding Assistant Principal of the Year, recognized by both MAESP and NAESP, with 27 years of service in public education. Her leadership fingerprints are everywhere, across classrooms, districts, advisory boards, and the lives of countless students. Dr. Matthew has served as a teacher, reading specialist, a tag coordinator, and an assistant principal at both middle and elementary levels in Texas and Maryland. She has been a master teacher for the Maryland State Department of Education, an advisor on the MSDE Superintendent's Principal Advisory Council, and a member of NAESP's Professional Learning Advisory Council. Her leadership is grounded in reflection, equity, adaptive leadership, and whole child wellness. She has also founded Imaginate, a nonprofit built on the belief that if you can imagine greatness, you can achieve it. Now let's get to the conversation with Dr. Sonia Matthews.

Dr. Sonia Matthew 1:51

Thank you for having me, Jeff. I'm excited to be here.

Principal JL 1:55

I'm going to go ahead and start you off with the same question that I ask everybody on the show. What inspired you to become an educator?

Dr. Sonia Matthew 2:04

So, my dad, and if you follow me on social media, I'm very open with my why. And that is my dad. He has been my role model from the very beginning, always being a steady, consistent force in my life and supportive, very humble. And so he definitely, he definitely is my inspiration, hands down.

Principal JL 2:32

All right. So becoming an educator, what was that like? What did you go to school? You know, of course you went to school, of course, but what did you uh become a what type of teacher were you? And then let's talk about just like your teaching experiences. How did your teaching experiences inform the leadership that you have today as an assistant principal?

Dr. Sonia Matthew 2:56

Okay, so I started off in Ottawa, Canada. That's where I'm from. My parents actually immigrated from a poor village in India back in the 70s. So I'm first generation and I grew up educated in Canada. But what's interesting is I didn't actually enter school. I entered in kindergarten, but I entered

Finding A Calling In Education

Dr. Sonia Matthew 3:20

not speaking English. Not speaking English and also having, well, I later found out that I had a stuttering, a stuttering problem. So that's kind of my, you know, that's kind of like how I started as a child. But the reason I didn't speak English is because I was actually born in Canada, but my parents had to work, remember them being immigrants. They had to work and make money. So they had to send me to India to live with my grandparents. And so coming into a kindergarten Canadian classroom and not being able to really, you know, know a lot and all the nuances, that was definitely hard. But I did go through the whole system in Canada. Great education system, by the way. And I didn't actually go into college to be an educator. I went into college to be a journalist, a journalist. I was a journalism major. Now I didn't make the cut, it was very difficult. So I just went into an arts degree and then I started to do very well. There was a mentor who changed my life. Her name, her name is Doris Keithner. And I remember I was struggling, and she told me, Jeff, if you can make a if you can make an F, you can make an A. And she showed me how to do it. She took me under her wing, changed my life. And from there, I knew I wanted to teach. And so applied to Teachers College. It was very difficult. We only have, I think, 30 teachers' colleges in the whole country. So it's not an easy, it's not an easy field to get into in Canada, but I did it. And I was able to go through the process with my education degree. And then I was recruited to teach in the state. So in 1998, immigrated right on to Texas and started my teaching career. What was it like as a teacher? I was always, and I still am, I'm really into the holistic aspect of the work. So making sure that my students have what they need, meet them where they are. And so that does require, you know, outside the box thinking. Like what is it that are, what is it that this kid needs, and what do we need to do? Like now we talk about it as interventions, right? So wraparound services, interventions. Whatever my students in my classrooms needed, as in my classroom when I was a teacher, I do the same thing as an AP. I try to really lead in ways that we're thinking about what do each of our students need academically, social, emotionally, and then what do we need to do to plan to make sure that we're meeting those students, each and every one of them where they are, bringing them, giving them the tools that they need. So that's really how I've always been as a teacher, and I still am as a school leader. Did that answer your question, Jeff?

Principal JL 6:19

Oh, yeah. I think, I mean, you mean it kind of like you're able to give me a really good picture of just like growing up in Canada. And I didn't realize it was a difficult thing to get into a teacher college because in the states, like there's like several colleges you can become a teacher in, but there are some colleges in the state or the do they do specialize, like they would be known. Like the University of Nebraska and Kearney is known as a teacher college, and there's other ones out there just to give you an example, but like every other university has you know their kind of niche. So I thought that was interesting to learn that man, there's only 30 teacher colleges in the whole.

Dr. Sonia Matthew 6:58

Yeah, so it was it very competitive, it's very competitive, very, very competitive. Absolutely. So I don't have the stats on all of that, but I can tell you it was very like it's not you have to get interviewed. It depends on your merit. We did not have a lot of standardized testing, so that really wasn't the criteria. It's more your grades, your merit, your experience, student teaching, who you are as a as a person, as a you know, what type of person are you that that makes you the type of educator that we're looking for?

Principal JL 7:36

Awesome. So you went from Canada. Where at in Canada did you live?

Dr. Sonia Matthew 7:41

Ottawa, the capital.

Principal JL 7:43

Okay, and then you went from Ottawa, Canada. Now you're in Texas. Where in Texas did you teach?

Dr. Sonia Matthew 7:48

So I was in, I was in Texas for 10 years and then migrated up to Maryland back in 2008. So I've been in this country now for 27 years. So I've been here longer than I've actually been in Canada.

Principal JL 8:02

So as a as a teacher, what subjects did you teach, or were you an elementary teacher?

Dr. Sonia Matthew 8:07

Or yeah, I started off elementary, so it was all subjects, and then I went into middle school teaching reading, reading and writing. Yeah.

Principal JL 8:16

So you got to see kind of like the elementary and then a middle school setting, and you know, God bless you. I am a secondary, like give me high school all day long, and you can have elementary. I mean, elementary, I had I

Teaching Philosophy And Whole Child Focus

Principal JL 8:30

was in a K-12 district, I was a 7-12 principal. So I got to like have experiences with the elementary kids, and the one thing I I remember the most is like if I was having a bad day, let's go to the elementary side, the kids would give me hugs. Like, I made it like worth it, but then I go back over to the other side, and you know, I was more comfortable there, but like they wouldn't brighten up your day. So that's one, those are some experiences I had, not like being an elementary principal, but working with an elementary principal. Because there's times where they would be gone and I have to go over and handle situations, not a not a not a big deal, but at the same time, give me secondary holiday along. It's just a different world, a different base down in the elementary. And I realized that, especially with my daughter being a fifth grade teacher in Kansas City area. So um, that's a lot of fun to like watch her journey as well. And so you're in Texas, go to Maryland, you taught middle uh elementary, middle school. And so, what was it that made you go, hmm, I'm gonna take the next step and become an administrator and become an assistant principal like you are today?

Dr. Sonia Matthew 9:38

Just I'm really never satisfied. I'm not the I'm not a creature of habit. The only thing I'm a habit of is really like things that have to do with my health. So I can eat the same thing every day. I can, you know, I have my exercise routine, like things that you don't really like to do, I can be a habit with if it's going to be beneficial. But when it comes to my career and what I'm passionate about, it's a constant state of evolution. So I'm constantly thinking about what more can I do? What greater impact can I have? So my mind just would go beyond the classroom. So thinking about these 30 students, how can I now help their families? Like I would think this way. How could I now, if I'm working with these teachers, how could I help this whole department? Like, what can I do to make that impact? So that's really where my head has always been. And so, and that, and that's really that's it. And I'm still that way. I'm always thinking about the next thing. I don't, I can't explain it. It's just how it's just what I see in my head.

Principal JL 10:45

So how are you? I want you to kind of describe the demographics of your school because I want to I want to just kind of understand, like, you know, you're in Maryland. Where in Maryland are you? I'll let you let I'll let you talk about that, and just tell me about the type of students you have demographically, social economics, those things like that. Just try to paint a picture of your your school building.

Dr. Sonia Matthew 11:12

Yeah, and I'm gonna tell you in Canada, we don't even have these discussions. Isn't that interesting? We don't talk about demographics and race of students and social economic stuff, like that's not even a thing, right? So when I came to Texas and I remember sitting in a staff meeting, and that's what we were talking about. Like we were talking about black, white, Hispanic kids performance. We were talking about free and reduced lunch, and I was like, this is weird because I'm not used to this, right? But to answer your question, I'm very used to it now because it's been 27 years. The school I'm currently at is a suburban school. So we are a suburban area of Maryland. We're out in southern Maryland, and it is a predominantly black school. We I think our it's 90 something percent African American. And we are just on like we are just under, I think 40 or 40 percent, 40 to 30 30 to 40 percent free and reduced meals. We have a very high, we actually have the most students with IEPs in our building, and we have about 600 students pre-K to fifth grade.

Principal JL 12:35

What's your IEP percentage?

Dr. Sonia Matthew 12:37

Um, I don't know it. It's it's like in the 20, it's 20, 22 percent. It's pretty high. Okay, can sit compared to the other school.

Principal JL 12:45

Yeah, to give you an idea of my high school, we're 52% free and reduce. All right, we're in the middle of south central Nebraska, where we're probably about six, about 70% Caucasian. We have about another 20% is our Hispanic population, and then we have everything else, right? All the other different demographics you could think of on that end. I kind of look at things kind of like social economics more than anything, because it doesn't matter like you know what you look like, it matters like what your social economics is, because that will determine the kind of support you have at home, that will determine the kind of upbringing you have. Because if you if you grow up poor, no matter what, or if you grow up with parents, you know, that are doing well and you don't have the struggles as other kids do, that's that's kind of an important thing to point out because no matter where you're at, if you're in Maryland or if you're in Nebraska, just understanding your free reduced lunch and then understanding your social economics of your district will will help you with those things. So, with that, I know you, you know, a child of immigrants and you kind of just made your way through the Canadian system and you immigrated to the US. So, would you say your experiences, your background helps you connect with those kids? And if so, how does that help you connect? Because I am not an immigrant, and so I can't connect those ways. I connect other ways, but not that way.

Dr. Sonia Matthew 14:18

Oh my gosh, a thousand percent, a thousand, like a million percent. I mean, again, going back to being a teacher and and knowing that my kids, not like knowing, hey, because the first the first school that I was in in Texas was a was a school in a Hamlet area, it's a little area

From Classroom To Administration

Dr. Sonia Matthew 14:40

in Texas. And the school I was teaching in had generational poverty. So these kids, you know, their parents or grandparents, there's a lot of poverty. And I knew that, and it was just a matter of I didn't have to look at the data actually as a teacher. Like I did, I just knew my kids. I got to know my kids, I got to know my families, and that's that's it. Once I had that trust, and once I took that time to invest in what they needed and did that, it was a game changer, right? It was a game changer. And because I come like I'm East Indian, you know, I'm coming from Canada, never, never like I grew up with in classrooms where I was, you know, there's only one or two or three kids of color, right? Whether they were black, brown, whatever they were, it was mostly white, okay? And we just never, the discussions were never had. We never felt, I never felt the sense of, okay, you know, you're in this category. Even as I was in college, and even now talking with my friends who are educators in Canada, we just don't have those conversations. But it is a different, you know, it's a different country, I get it. It's a different kind of social environment. But going back to your question, it's definitely a value added to be able to come in, even as an outsider, and perhaps not being from the same culture, but having a deep respect and a deep honor for the challenges that some of our families were encountering. So, like I said, it was a school that was generational poverty. I've been my whole time in Texas, they were all Title I schools. That was 10 years. I spent three, two or three, two years at a school in Maryland that it was Title I as an assistant principal. So being in all types of environments, I found that through it all, Jeff, it's just knowing your students at deep levels and taking that time to really invest in understanding who they are and their families. Because if we don't understand where they come from and what their unique challenges are, then we're not, we're not going to have empathy. And we're not, and really understanding them is deeper than just kind of talking to them. It's really going into their environments. It's that deep, you know. So I would do that as a new teacher back in the day. I remember taking my kids in my classroom. Like I would take them, I would like go on the weekends and take my kids out to the pool, to the park. I mean, we could do that back then, like in my car. I couldn't believe it. Like, I can't believe I did that, but that's what we were allowed to do. And then as I as I traveled on this, you know, on this educational road as a teacher, doing different things to show my students, my families, and now my staff that I am invested in your well-being and your growth. And demonstrating that consistently allows me to have success no matter where people come from, or no matter where you know they're lacking in their resources.

Principal JL 18:11

Awesome. Well, and you're kind of hitting a lot of things there because I I agree. I really think that our job as educators is to meet our kids where they're at,

School Context And Community Needs

Principal JL 18:20

no matter what, remove barriers and then help families as they need it. Because even here in South Central Nebraska, we're doing a lot of the same work that you would do in Maryland and in your school as well. So it's like no matter where you're at, we're all doing, you know, we're all doing that work because we want to help kids succeed. And I think that's really interesting to listen to you and just have you know have that perspective because I'm over here like going, yeah, I agree because you know, we see the same things. And I think that's that's a great thing how we connect in that way. So as an assistant principal, how have you grown? Is there lessons you've learned, things you say, you know what, if I could have that back, I would do that differently. What have you learned as an AP, you know, that really has evolved you into your leadership?

Dr. Sonia Matthew 19:11

So I would say my sense of focus on making sure that I'm using my time in ways that are going to maximize student success. Because one of the things that bothers me a lot is that we have students who are not on level. Like that really bothers me. That's the sense of urgency, right? So doing all these things that I mentioned to you, like going into the homes, like things that I used to do as a teacher, like doing all those holistic things, they can be done, but we have to figure out as leaders how do we streamline these processes so they work? And how are we making sure that we're not wasting time and doing them effectively to check in to see how these systems are working for our students? So, what kind of interventions are we putting into place? Why are we putting these interventions into place? Are we able to sustain these interventions for our kids? So that's really something that has short has been become more sharp for me as an assistant principal, especially coming from the middle school level. So I spent I spent several years at the middle school level. This is my fifth year as an AP. Now I was, so for three of those two of those years, I was at an I was at a middle school. This is my third year at an elementary school. But for five years, I was a middle school admin intern. So in total, I was in, I was at the middle school level as an administrator for seven years. And I did a whole lot of discipline, a whole lot of discipline. And we were talking before we aired, right? That it's every school is different. So listen, we weren't doing a lot of instruction. Kids were out of the classroom for a lot of time, and that bothered me because I could walk into a classroom and the same kids who are sitting in those class in that classroom engaged is over here, like walking out of class in the hallways, right? So these are things that really really bother me. And I think they bother all of us as educators, right? But as as far as becoming just becoming sharper as a vice principal, as an assistant principal, it's been my ability, it's been really just figuring out how to make sure those systems are in place, assessing, evaluating, I would say, those systems to see how well they're working so that we can continue with those systems. That's how I've become better. And I am naturally, I think, very reflective. I'm there, I think a lot. So I think that reflection has helped me in this work to constantly go back and figure out how to improve in certain areas, never just keeping things how they are. If they're not working, what do we need to do to make it better continually? Like that's that whole progress monitoring piece that I've become better at doing as an assistant principal.

Principal JL 22:26

Awesome. I really love that you kind of talked about systems and streamlining and things like that, because you know, someday, someday you'll be a building principal, you know, and you got to think that way already. Because, like when I came into the job I have right now, we kind of have the same issue with well, kids are out of the classrooms a lot, and you know what the what we're doing isn't working. How do we streamline it? So just to help with that, we have e-haul passes, we have hall monitors, we have you know the expectation from our attendants were like we just redid some things and then rolled it out and said, This is our expectation, this is how we're gonna operate, and it's made everything so much smoother. But we didn't get there without collaborating with the staff and the teachers and bringing people along. It wasn't like I was up here dictating that, it was it was a collaborative effort, and I would tell anybody if you're streamlining systems, you have to collaborate with the people with you because guess who has to run the system? It's not you manage it, it's your it's your staff that's gonna run it. And I want to be the ones to go to really have ownership of that. I think that's really key. I really think you know putting on streamlining systems if it's working great, but if it's not working, do something about it. I think protectors will be very appreciative of that when you take those chances to just ignore it, just make it work, and uh you'll lose the credibility if you keep if you go down that road for sure. So you've been appointed several major advisory councils at the state and national level. How have these experiences shape your understanding? Uh how do these how do these experiences shape your understanding of what schools need from leaders?

Dr. Sonia Matthew 24:16

Uh experiences being on these different boards. So just going by going, you know, going back to what you said about collaborating, I also think with what you said, my light just went out, but I think we're okay. Is that

Connecting Through Lived Experience

Dr. Sonia Matthew 24:30

okay? Okay. So I think the the biggest, the biggest area that I've appreciated has been the listening, like working, being with others in the work and being able to listen to hear all of the different stories and challenges that they're having in the work, and then being able to add, add my input. That has been so powerful. Even going back to the example of systems in schools, when we listen to everyone, to all the stakeholders, and then make a decision based on what's best for you know, for the school, based on the data, based on the evidence, based on what we're hearing. Everyone's not going to be happy, but at the end of it, we know we've made the best decision and we've taken everyone's consideration into account. So these different boards have allowed me to also do that, be an active participant, an active listener, and work on problems together. And it's just a nice feeling to be able to have your voice heard in those spaces because they are spaces that do inform policy. And that's just a privilege. That is definitely a privilege because I don't, you know, I'm just doing the work and I'm like, wow, I can talk about this, and they're actually listening to what I have to say. Oh my gosh, it's it's so humbling.

Principal JL 25:58

All right. Yeah, I really enjoy, you know, learning about that. And, you know, I agree, like, you know, having that space and having people to connect with and having them hear you out because you are doing the work and they need to hear from people that are actually in the trenches doing those things so they can help support education in a positive way. So you talked about reflection, right? Reflection is central to your leadership. So, how does intentional reflection deepen your practice? Can you give me an example of what that looks like?

Dr. Sonia Matthew 26:29

So I have realized, Jeff, that I think a lot. And I've realized, and it's not that, it's not like I have these negative thoughts, but I realize that I can go very deep in my thoughts. So I've come to realize that it used to be a distraction because it would go down these rabbit holes. Like my thoughts would go into all these, like, it's just so much. But now I've realized or I've learned how to kind of compartmentalize my thoughts. I've learned how to write, like kind of write them out so I can see patterns and what I'm thinking and what I'm feeling. So, in doing that, use the, you know, we use the word streamlining. It's allowed me to streamline my thinking and help me reach those goals I want to reach. So, an example, you know, today I just launched my website, really excited. And that was not just something now, of course, we had our snow day, so I could really get everything kind of solidified, but that whole process was kind of just mapped out. Everything to like what I want it to look like, what my purpose of it is, and all of the different building blocks to get where we are with that website and just really the functionality of it has been intentional based on my reflection, which was executed through my process of writing my thinking out and really mapping things out based on what I'm thinking. I've learned to get all my thoughts out on paper. So once I do, they're out of my head and I can kind of process. So, so being intentional about the time I spend in that reflection. And I think that's gonna be a huge, a huge value as a school principal. It's definitely valuable in the role I have as an assistant principal. But we were talking earlier about how as a principal, you're in charge of the entire school. So you have to really be reflecting constantly about and be steps ahead of, you know, what's going on. And so that's where I think it's going to definitely help me be a better, you know, be that type of leader I want to be.

Principal JL 28:50

Awesome. I really appreciate your insights on that. So moving forward, you have been trained in adaptive leadership, SEL, and adult wellness, and it plays a big role in what you do. So, how do these frameworks help you support students, staff, and families in your school?

Dr. Sonia Matthew 29:10

You know, I think the reflection piece has definitely has definitely been a huge part of how I lead as an adaptive

Systems, Interventions, And Time

Dr. Sonia Matthew 29:20

leader and as someone who just is very self-aware. And so the question was, how are those, how are those certifications helping me as a school leader? So I don't, I can again, you know, reflecting, taking time to process, I'm not quick to move. Even though I'm in my head, I want to go, right? Like we were talking earlier about just always thinking about the next thing. I'm aware of that. And I'm also aware that everybody's not gonna go that fast. So it's I understand you have to, you know, go slow in order to go fast, right? And we have to really going back to listening, listen to every single stakeholder. How that gets done, and that's a whole nother conversation because it takes time, right? But that intentionality needs to be there. Because when we understand how people are feeling and why they're feeling that way, and we're actively listening. Now we can take all that information and work on these problems that we have in our building. Because at the end of the day, like they're they're they may not be happy about something, but they also might have a solution. They might have untapped leadership skills that we can now tap into as leaders because that ought to be our job, right? As adaptive leaders. And I have found that in education, which is why I'm really been doing a lot of learning about leading as a you know, human-centered leading, in education, we tend to kind of not focus on our people too much, right? We're so focused on the things, right? And so I mean, I don't know if we do find that we're not really like people are not intentionally or unintentionally. We just we're so busy. Does that make sense? We're constantly going. So we can't forget our people. We can't just say, okay, well, things are not going well. We're gonna do something, like give them a genes day or give them a treat. We gotta anticipate what's happening, but we also have to know why this is happening based on understanding each and every person, just like we have to understand each and every student in the classroom. So when we do that, we're able to now think about those technical problems and apply adaptive solutions. Think about the mindset. And it takes a it's so difficult changing people's mindsets. And that's why you that's why I believe you have to take time and get that trust going. You know, you know, I love Dr. Rachel Edouet and Dr. Brad Johnson's book. Relational intelligence. We have, and that's all adaptive, right? We got to know who we're working with, we gotta know what their areas of strength are, we gotta know what their challenges are, and that's gonna take time. So we have to be intentional, we have to be reflective, and we have to, we have to take that time to invest in people in order to get this work done right.

Principal JL 32:34

Yeah, you said a lot of great things there. I love how you just talk about, you know, you started talking about, you know, taking care of your staff, right? Making sure how do they tick, how do they operate. Because when you know your staff and you know how they operate, you're able to build that relationship, that trust, and then you're able to collaborate and come up with solutions. Because, like you said, if they don't trust you, they ain't gonna follow you. I think that's really important. One of the first things that any principal or assistant principal is to get to know your staff members as well as your students. Like I'm more focused right now as a building principal to make sure I take care of my adults in the building, because if I take care of my adults in the building, I take care of the students. So me taking care of the adults make sure my students are taking care of, because my adults in the building are taking care of the students in the building. And so that's where I spend a lot of my time as a building principal is making sure, yeah, we have systems, we want them to run, we want them to do well, we'll collaborate when we need to fix things, but at the same time, I gotta let people know I care about them and then that they are they're supported and they have what they need so they can be successful and the best that they can be. I think that's really, really important to highlight there when you have that little mind shift from like teacher into assistant principal, even up to the building principal role. So um so yes, you're an assistant principal, but you're not just an assistant principal. Um you are the 2025 Maryland National Outstanding Assistant Principal of the Year. So, how did you uh find out that you won this recognition? And then how has that recognition, you know, what does that mean to you? And how has that like kind of been for you? Has it been a whirlwind? You know, what opportunities have you had because of this recognition?

Dr. Sonia Matthew 34:34

So I'm gonna start with the opportunities. I'm getting all these opportunities, like being on your podcast, and it's been definitely, you know, very like scary something because I it's not something I was used to doing at all. But I would just take the opportunities and just roll with it. And I found out one of my principals who I worked for as an administrative assistant. So she hired me as an administrative assistant, which is like a pseudo with AP. She nominated me. She's no longer in our district, but she nominated me and she told me. So I had to fill out my little stuff. And I never would have thought, I'm like, I'm not gonna get this right. But I got it. I I had a visit from our our executive director of our association, and that was it. I was surprised. It we caught me in my tracks in the school building, and it's just it's just been so humbling and very unexpected. But you know, a lot of it was the stuff that I did with the community engagement that was really like we changed that building that I was in through the community effort.

Principal JL 35:43

Sonia, this has like been a really great uh conversation that we're having here. And so we have a lot of aspiring educators out there that are thinking about, you know what, I want to become an educational leader someday. Maybe step into that AP role, maybe a building principal role at that time. What advice would you give to an aspiring educational leader out there listening?

Dr. Sonia Matthew 36:09

I would say to any aspiring educator or leader out there, I would say take your time, take your time and prioritize on what you have to do. So, whatever your principal needs you to do, make sure you get it done, figure out what your system's gonna be, get your checklist going. Don't think you're gonna remember everything, don't just write everything down, prioritize, take your time,

Collaboration And Policy Influence

Dr. Sonia Matthew 36:40

and get to know your principal. Your job is to make that principle look good. You're not maybe gonna agree with your principal, but that is not your job, especially starting out. Your job is not to change the principle or do things how you want to do it, you are the assistant to the principal. So that's what I would say. That would be my advice. Take your time, learn your principle, and do and show through your performance that you are going to be dependable, you're going to be consistent, you're going to be responsible, and you're going to get those things done like as they need to be done.

Principal JL 37:21

Yeah, I appreciate that. That's really good advice for those aspiring educational leaders out there. And so something that you see a lot is you see negativity out there about education. It could be, you know, on the national TV, it could be social media posts, but I want to talk about what gets you excited about the future of education. Because I have seen way more positive things out there than the negative things. And if you ever read Robert Hensliff's book and Shauna's book, Eating Our Own, it talks about that. So I want to start talking about what gets people excited about the future of education. So what gets you excited?

Dr. Sonia Matthew 38:04

So I think there's a lot of hmm, there's a lot of people out there, especially the younger, the younger people, like the younger, like maybe, you know, maybe not you and I. I mean, we're pretty, you know, like like the 30s, right there, you know, those that generation who are just being so, they're so innovative, you know, and I feel like they're going to be the ones to take our system to different places, like innovation, using different methods to, you know, through technology, through AI, to really reach our students. I believe that we have we have the educators and we have the voices that are being amplified, like through such, you know, through podcasts, through different ways for people to see that, you know what, there's some good stuff going on. Like I think about, I just recently, I think, you know, got on TikTok. I'm I'm not, you know, there as much as I am on Instagram, but I just see so many things going on. There's so much creativity, relationships that are school leaders with their teachers, with their staff, with their students, like they're showing all the positivity that is happening out there. And if we're exposed to that through social media, we can see that there's a lot of promise in our field. And like you said, the negativity is there, but where are you looking? Are you looking at the six o'clock news, right? Where they may be more ought to say that? Or are you are your algorithms feeding into those negative stories? Because that's what you're looking for. Like we are algorithm driven. So I don't know about you, Principal Jeff, but my my social media is positive because the stuff that I'm clicking on, the stuff that I'm scrolling through is positive. So it's out there and that excites me. And so, you know, I think that we just need to amplify that. And so I know you and I both like we are all about putting that good stuff out on social media, and we have to take that personal responsibility to do that, because if we, you and I, individually and collectively, don't do it, then there's a loss. Like people are not gonna get the positivity, right? And I always say like, if one person can be impacted by my message by a post that I make, then I am, I'm feeling good. I feel like I'm doing my job as a leader.

Principal JL 40:51

Awesome. So we're gonna get ready to close the show here. And so, what's some things you got coming up? And then how can people connect with you?

Dr. Sonia Matthew 41:01

So, as I was saying, I just released my, I just I guess released or put out my website, just published my website. It is drsoniamatthew.com, and that is where all my different projects are housed. I'm working

Reflection As A Leadership Engine

Dr. Sonia Matthew 41:20

on a right now, we're currently I'm co-hosting a podcast called Leading While Human with Sean Gailliard, and I'm also putting my blogs out. So I've done a few blogs. I wrote a blog yesterday, so I've got my blogs out there. I'm working on a book and it's called the Assistant Principal's Blueprint from survival to success. That's what it is. See, I'm not focusing on the negative stuff, it's a success on you, but it's a survival. But that's where I was. So it's really going through my journey, but really giving people those practical systems that they could use and tools. And that's really that's really everything. So everything is there at drsoniaamathew.com. All my socials are on there um at that site as well.

Principal JL 42:13

Awesome. So what I'll do is I'll put your website information down below in the show notes so people can collect and connect with you and follow all the great work you're doing. Because I know, you know, been following you on social media for a while. I've seen this kind of all the great things that you're doing. I really appreciate the work that you're doing. So, Sonia, before we go, is there any last thing you'd like to tell the audience?

Dr. Sonia Matthew 42:37

Hmm. I just the word that keeps coming up is positivity. Like that's a word that just keeps coming up from the minute we started conversing today, Jeff. And I want to just let everybody know that, you know, we need to, we need to focus on the pro on the positive. And, you know, life is short. Like celebrate the moments, seize the opportunities, and try to try to shut out the noise. And I think that I think if we do that, we're gonna be a-okay and thank you so much for this opportunity. So much fun.

Principal JL 43:08

Awesome. Well, thank you for being on the show.

Dr. Sonia Matthew 43:10

You're welcome. My pleasure.

Principal JL 43:13

What a great conversation with Dr. Sonia Matthew. If this episode inspired you, share it with another leader who needs that spark today. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss another outstanding episode like this one. And remember to be the change by being curious and 1% better.