profile

Hi! I'm Jethro

Finally — CE hours that actually mean something

Published 3 months ago • 5 min read

January 22, 2026

Hi Reader,

I’ve got some exciting news — and a quick favor to ask.

If you know any school leaders, teachers, or staff who need continuing education hours, would you please pass this along?

LinkedLeaders just launched Book Study Workshops — a brand-new, university-accredited way for K–12 educators to earn 30 Continuing Education Hours (or 2 University Credits) through Boise State University while engaging in meaningful, practical learning.

Each workshop blends real-world leadership reading with live, professional dialogue in a simple, flexible format designed for real educators with real schedules.

Here’s how it works: - 5 live, 60-minute sessions (via Google Meet or Zoom)
- Earn 30 CE Hours / 2 University Credits through Boise State University​
- Finish remaining hours through reading, brief online discussions, and on-the-job reflection

Upcoming Workshops

  • Atomic Habits – Build high-impact systems for school success (Starts Oct 29)
  • What Great Principals Do Differently – 15 things that matter most (Starts Nov 3)
  • Start on the Sidewalk – Engagement at every step of the school day (Starts Nov 3)
  • Lead with Humility – 12 Leadership Lessons from Pope Francis (Starts Nov 4)
  • Supercommunicators – Master connection and trust in leadership (Starts Nov 4)
  • Differentiating Differently – Meeting diverse classroom needs (Starts Nov 6)
  • SchoolX – Redesign your school for the people right in front of you (Starts Nov 11) by yours truly!

Seats are limited, so if this sounds helpful (or you know someone who’d love it), don’t wait.

👉 See All Workshops & Register Now: https://linkedleaders.com/book-study

Thanks for spreading the word — I really appreciate it.

These workshops are a small but powerful way to help educators grow together in ways that actually last.

Best,
Jethro

PODCAST Episode

It's All About The People with Erika Garcia-Niles Transformative Principal 508

Erika Garcia-Niles highlights the importance of prioritizing relationships in school leadership, focusing on trust-building, effective communication, and creating inclusive environments where all stakeholders feel valued.

Concepts & Frameworks

Organic vs. Mechanistic Skills

Organic skills are what people often call soft skills. But they are anything but soft. They are constantly growing and evolving. They are constantly changing and improving. They are living! Mechanistic skills are those skills where you can easily see if someone has them? Do they know addition? Multiplication? How to code? Organic skills are these: Do they know how to communicate effectively? Do they have empathy? Are they patient? and so many more. Organic skills are hard to quantify, but easily noticeable when they are absent. And they are essential for our day-to-day work, especially in schools.

​

Just double-checking something real quick. We've got you down as [IDENT_SINGULAR GOES HERE], and we want to make sure you’re getting content, stories, and tools that actually match where you’re at. If we got it right, awesome. If not, choose an option below and set us straight.

​

Got a Minute?

Quick Question

What's your biggest challenge with transforming your school leadership? Just hit reply and share your thoughts.
“
I found the entire workshop to be valuable. The offer of a 30-minute coaching session is amazing. I've never had a workshop presenter offer that to participants. The collaboration time was great. Thank you for a wonderful workshop. As far as leadership goes, this was one of the best I've had.
— Hillary, AP Workshop Participant
​

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.

​

​

PO Box 30161, Spokane, WA 99223
​Unsubscribe · Preferences

Hi! I'm Jethro

Stop putting out fires, start leading

I am a speaker, podcaster, author, and coach. I help school leaders and other influential people be their best and lead effectively. My podcast Transformative Principal is the most downloaded and longest running podcast for school leaders out there.

Read more from Hi! I'm Jethro

January 22, 2026 I’ve been interested for a long time in the idea of soft skills. I even helped produce a podcast focused on this called Skilled by Design. Tom Bay has done a lot of work in this arena. As has Seth Godin. I recently found Dr. Marvin Berkowitz’s book PRIMED for Character Education: Six Design Principles for School Improvement to have the best definition, and one that I will adopt and use frequently. I only wish I had come up with it. I use the notions of organic vs. mechanical...

13 days ago • 5 min read

January 22, 2026 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...

7 months ago • 5 min read

January 22, 2026 Hi Reader, I'm excited to announce we have two new podcasts on the BE Podcast Network. Improving Education Today: The Deep Dive You've probably heard of AI tools to create content. The eternal problem will always be, garbage in-garbage out, which means if you start with something low quality, you'll get low quality out the other side. Dr. Howie Knoff has been doing just the opposite, creating high quality articles and turning those into meaningful podcasts with AI Educators...

8 months ago • 2 min read