The EdLeadership Pair: Real Conversations for Today’s School Leaders
A Marzano Resources and Solution Tree podcast.
As two long-time school leaders, we discuss contemporary issues that today's school leaders face. We offer insights and advice for leaders and share some of our favorite leadership experiences. You will also catch a few married couple jokes sprinkled throughout : )
Episodes
38 episodes
Does Your School Have a Customer Service Problem? | Five-Star Schools with Nathaniel Provencio - Ep 08
GUEST: Nathaniel Provencio https://www.provenprincipalllc.com/A parent walks up to your school and gets greeted with “ID.” A teacher walks into the front office and feels li...
Your Staff’s Generational Mix Changes How You Lead - Ep 07
Your school might be trying to solve 2026 problems with a 2006 professional development plan. When we step back and look at who is actually teaching today, the staffing math can be surprising: Baby Boomers and Gen X are no longer “most of the b...
What Your School Building Says To Students - Ep 06
Your school building is already teaching, before any lesson plan starts. The walls, the signs, the noise level, the clutter, and even the first 30 feet after the front door send a message about who belongs and how this place works. We dig into ...
Seven Daily Leadership Behaviors That Shape Trust - Ep 05
We break down seven leadership behaviors that decide whether people trust us enough to follow, even when our systems look solid on paper. We share real stories and practical moves to show up present, consistent, and coachable in schools and edu...
A Simple Daily Huddle That Keeps School Leaders Aligned - Ep 04
A leadership team can do everything right and still get blindsided by the one thing nobody said out loud. That’s why we love the daily huddle: a three to five minute touch base that keeps principals, assistant principals, counselors, and coache...
Beyond Volunteering: Building Real Family Engagement In Schools | A National Parent Panel - Ep 03
Trust doesn’t break in one big moment. It breaks in the small ones: the email that never gets answered, the policy link that’s broken, the “you should know where to find that” response that leaves a family feeling alone. As the school year ramp...
Back To School Leader Checklist - Ep 02
Your school year is going to follow a system whether you design it or not. We sit down with our own opening-of-school planning documents and talk through the tactical moves that keep a campus calm, clear, and focused once students arrive and th...
Before the First Bell | What Leaders Should Consider before the New Year - Ep 01
The first days of the school year feel like logistics season, but we think the real work starts earlier: the culture and climate you set before students ever arrive. If we get those wrong, the best calendars, schedules, and initiatives won’t su...
What Great Leaders Do Differently | A Conversation with Dr. Todd Whitaker – Ep. 30
Guest: Todd Whitaker www.toddwhitaker.comEvery great leader has been shaped by someone who challenged the way they think. For Mario and Courtney, that leader is Dr. Todd Whitaker.<...
Best of Season 1: Rebuilding What Schools Lost | The Expectations Students Need Again - Ep 29
🎧 Episode OverviewInstead of introducing a brand-new topic, this special Best of Season 1 episode revisits one of the conversations that resonated most with school leaders across the country.Throughout Season 1, prin...
Stop Answering the Same Questions Every Day | Summer Shorts Series – Ep. 28
🎧 Episode OverviewPolicies tell people what they can do.Playbooks show people how to do it.In this Summer Shorts episode, Mario and Courtney explore one of the most overlooked leadership sy...
Who’s At Your Table? | Summer Shorts Series – Ep 27
🎧 Episode OverviewMost school leaders feel buried in meetings.Too many committees.Too many conversations.Not enough movement.But the problem usually isn’t the number of meetings.It’s the lack of cla...
What Principals are Really Facing Today | National Principal Panel - Ep 26
🎧 Episode OverviewIn this special event episode, Mario and Courtney bring together a panel of principals from across the country for a raw, honest conversation about what school leadership feels like right now.From I...
The Clarity Your Team Craves | Summer Shorts Series - Ep 25
🎧 Episode OverviewEvery school has job descriptions.But very few schools have true accountability frameworks.In this episode of the Summer Shorts Series, Mario and Courtney unpack one of the most overlooked le...
The Exaggerator's Playbook | Summer Shorts Series - Ep 24
🎧 Episode OverviewEvery leader has encountered it:“Everyone is upset.” “Nobody likes this.” “The staff is furious.”But what if “everyone” is actually three people?In this episode o...
Don’t Let One Exit Create Chaos | Summer Shorts Series - Ep 23
🎙 The EdLeadership Pair PodcastNow brought to you by Marzano Resources & Solution Tree🎧 Episode OverviewA resignation from one key leader can create far more disruption than most school systems are prepared for.<...
The Expectations Leaders Are Trying to Rebuild | Rebuilding the Expectations Students Need – Ep 22
Hosts: Courtney Acosta & Mario AcostaBios: https://www.theedleadershippair.com/about-usPodcast: The EdLeadership Pair – Unfiltered Conversations for Today’s School LeadersJoin our growing community of school leaders navigati...
Calling Out What Schools Lost | Reconnecting to What Matters Most - Ep 21
Hosts: Courtney Acosta & Mario AcostaBios: https://www.theedleadershippair.com/about-usPodcast: The EdLeadership Pair – Unfiltered Conversations for Today’s School Leaders<...
The Leadership Work No One Sees | What Great Principals Do Before Summer Starts - Ep 20
Hosts: Courtney Acosta & Mario AcostaBios: https://www.theedleadershippair.com/about-usPodcast: The EdLeadership Pair – Unfiltered Conversations for Today’s School Leaders <...
Don’t Let Weak Preparation Cost You the Job | How Great Leaders Actually Get Hired - Ep 19
Hosts: Courtney Acosta & Mario AcostaBios: https://www.theedleadershippair.com/about-usPodcast: The EdLeadership Pair – Unfiltered Conversations for Today’s School Leaders&n...
It’s Harder Than Ever to Hire Educators | Don’t Let Weak Systems Make It Worse – Ep 18
🎧 Episode OverviewA great interview does not guarantee a great hire.In this episode, Courtney and Mario break down one of the most overlooked leadership failures in education: how schools hire the wrong people and...
Rethinking How We Develop Beginning Teachers | The Leadership Moves That New Teachers Really Need with Dr. Tina H. Boogren – Ep 17
Hosts: Courtney Acosta & Mario AcostaBio: https://www.theedleadershippair.com/about-us Guest: Tina H. Boogren ...
Don’t Lose Your Best Teachers (Part 2) | What To Do About Sprouts & Shadows - Ep 16
How to grow willing teachers and confront the ones destroying your culture🎯 Episode SummarySupporting veteran teachers is one of the most complex and misunderstood responsibilities of school leadership. This...
Don't Lose Your Best Teachers | Leading the 4 Types of Veteran Teachers - Ep 15
Why experienced teachers aren’t one group—and how misunderstanding them leads to failed leadership, stalled culture, and lost influence.🎤 Hosts & Show InfoHosts: Courtney Acosta & Mario Acosta&nb...
Why Your Instructional Program Is Broken | And How to Fix It – Ep 014
🎧 Episode OverviewIn this episode, Courtney and Mario take on a hard truth that many schools still avoid: most campuses do not have an instructional strategy problem. They have an instructional leadership problem. When leaders fail t...