June 15, 2025

Hi ,

I felt like an idiot.

I’ve been using AI for years, but this week I took an assessment on how well I can use AI. It was humbling to say the least.

The challenges were very technical, included word games, outputting things just right, and process/flow charts. Man, it was tough. It was a timed test, and I never got the first question right. I had to skip it and come back later, which I did, and I’m glad I did because I still couldn’t figure out how to get it to format it correctly, even when I told it EXACTLY what to do!

This week, we’ve got two awesome LIVE events.

First up is AILeader Office Hours. I’m presenting at VAESP next week, and going to use this to answer your last minute questions before that presentation. AI keeps moving fast, and we all need a place to come ask questions and not feel like an idiot.

Second, is my monthly Big Impact Mixer. You never know what is going to come out of these, but this week we are going to share networking strategies and tips. Some come with your best ones. We’ll talk about networking for business, relationships, connections, jobs, and whatever else you can think of.

But I’m not going to be the “guru” this week. The smartest person in this room will be the room. So, if you’ve got something awesome you do, come share. If you want to learn something awesome, come share.

Here’s a tip to whet your whistle, though. Every time I enter into a new relationship with someone, I expect that it will last for 10 years.

Thinking with a long time horizon immediately deepens the relationship and removes the icky transactional feel. Just walking into a meeting with that intention forces you to slow down and see where you’re at.

All the best!

Jethro

PODCAST Episode

The Power of ICU with Garett Cook

Garett Cook introduces the "Power of ICU," a system that ensures students complete essential assignments through personalized support and healthy grading practices, resulting in improved academic performance and reduced failure rates

Listen now

Concepts & Frameworks

Use AI to Buy Back Your Time

AI can feel overwhelming or even scary to school leaders—but it doesn’t have to be. The truth is, AI can be one of the best time-saving tools you’ll ever use. One of my favorite ways to get started is using Get Principal Turbo, a GPT I created specifically for school leaders to build their leadership profiles, so it can sound like you. Try this: take your latest parent newsletter draft and drop it into any AI with your Leadership Profile (which you made with Get Principal Turbo, these serve as your custom instructions). Ask it to make the tone clearer and more concise. Or, better yet, start from scratch—tell it what you want to communicate and who it’s for. You’ll go from 50 minutes of overthinking and editing to 5 minutes of review and refinement. The key isn’t to let AI do your thinking for you, but to use it as a tool to help you lead with clarity and focus. Start small. Let it help you buy back time, and invest that time where it counts—with your people.

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“

Jethro's interactive approach made the application more possible. Seeing the AI world as a tool to solve a problem versus a teaching/learning tool was helpful.

— Kurt, Arizona School Administrators Conference

Jethro Jones

Transformative Principal

Education and leadership nerd, and founder of Transformative Principal. You might know me from my latest books, How to be a Transformative Principal and SchoolX, and the longest running ed leadership podcast, Transformative Principal.