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Artwork for The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast

The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast | The #1 Downloaded School Leadership Show

Daniel Bauer Loves School Leadership
Educational Leadership
Education
School Leadership
Student Engagement
Leadership
Professional Development
Education Leadership
Sustainable School Leadership Summit
Ruckus Makers
Community Engagement
Resilience
AI In Education
School Culture
Education Reform
Project-Based Learning
Ruckus Maker Mastermind
Artificial Intelligence
STEM Education
Leadership Development
Equity In Education

BETTER LEADERS BETTER SCHOOLS is the most downloaded podcast for K-12 school leaders — sitting in the TOP 0.5% of over 2 million podcasts worldwide. Launched in 2015, BLBS exists for one kind of leader: the Ruckus Maker — the principal who refuses to default to the status quo and is creating a campus experience worth showing up for. Every week, host Danny Bauer sits down with the sharpest minds in... more

PublishesTwice weeklyEpisodes395Founded11 years ago
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Artwork for The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast

Latest Episodes

Dr. Naphtali Hoff trains school leaders and teachers to perform at their best without running themselves into the ground. A former educator and school leader himself, Dr. Hoff now coaches and trains school leaders on management, productivity, and del... more

She studies why anti-racist professional development in schools so often fails to change how teachers actually treat students — and what works instead. Dr Abby C. Emerson is an assistant professor of Childhood Education at Hunter College, CUNY, where... more

Building AI tools that replace one-size-fits-all personality tests with real career plans is what got Corey Kossack into K12 education. He's the founder and CEO of Orchard, an AI-powered career counseling platform for schools, and Aspireship, an empl... more

Phil Brown trains educators to build the kind of learning moments a curriculum can't schedule. As an experiential and adventure education trainer at High 5 Adventure Learning Center, he's guided everyone from Iraqi high schoolers working through conf... more

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Recent Guests

Phil Brown
Experiential and adventure education trainer at High 5 Adventure Learning Center
High 5 Adventure Learning Center
Episode: Experiential Education: Why Your Lesson Plan Is Failing Students
Jenny Curtin
Executive/leadership figure involved with Barr Foundation
Barr Foundation
Episode: The Learning Model That Turned a Dropout Into the Class Speaker with Jenny Curtin
Dan Watt
Educator and founder involved with Ruckus Makers, worm farming advocate
Ruckus Makers / Mastermind
Episode: The Real Reason Principals Burn Out (And How to Fix It): Adorable Red Hats with Dan Watt
Pablo Villavicencio
CEO of Alliance College-Ready Public Schools
Alliance College-Ready Public Schools
Episode: The CEO Who Gets 91% Teacher Retention Without Tenure with Pablo Villavicencio
Aly Murray
Founder of Upchieve
Upchieve
Episode: Why Your Tutoring Program Is Quietly Failing Students With Aly Murray
Dr. Adam Wolfsdorf
Guest, author of Teaching in the Riptide
Education/Author
Episode: Why Reacting to Student Outbursts Destroys Your Classroom with Adam Wolfsdorf
Vanessa Casta%C3%B1eda Gill
Founder of Social Cipher, autistic advocate
Social Cipher
Episode: Why Your Neurodivergent Students Are Disappearing with Vanessa Castañeda Gill
Jeff Meade
Chief Innovation Officer at Paul Quinn College
Paul Quinn College
Episode: Why Every Student at This College Must Launch a Business- With Jeff Meade
Kris Rockwell
Edtech leader, speaker, and strategist discussed at length; affiliated with Play Piper
Play Piper
Episode: Why Your Edtech Is Failing Students (And What to Do Instead) with Kris Rockwell

Hosts

Danny Bauer
Host and founder of the show, focused on leadership, school transformation, and practical PD for principals.
Dan Watt
Principal and coach with leadership insight; appears as a recurring guest sharing practical leadership tactics.
Adam Wolfsdorf
Guest, author focused on classroom management and constructive subversions in education.
Vanessa Castañeda Gill
Founder of Social Cipher; neurodivergent education advocate and speaker on inclusion.

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 362 ratings
  • Very informative and engaging

    I only just stumbled across this podcast, and I can confidently say that I am happy I did. I do believe there is a lot to explore within the world of education and this podcast does amazing job of finding ways to tackle different problems with many schools. The guests also do make it more interesting with their different life experiences.

    Great work

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    whisperballs
    United Kingdom3 years ago
  • Inspirational Leadership

    Danny brings in some of the greatest minds in education who are making a Ruckus in todays schools.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Whitebread_13
    United States3 years ago
  • Great Lessons in Leadersip

    A very interesting and informative show. Great host with some interesting guests! A great listen every time.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Emma Podcast Connection
    South Africa5 years ago
  • Great show!

    This show's contents are truly fantastic. It has a wealth of valuable information. I wholeheartedly suggest this show!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    MargieTiempo
    Philippines5 years ago
  • A Must Listen!

    I just wanted to take a moment and say thank you for creating such an impactful podcast! I believe that we all have a voice that deserves to be heard. Thank you for putting this into the world! BE UNBROKEN! @MichaelUnbroken

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Michael Unbroken
    Philippines5 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Audiences enjoy high-quality guests who bring real-world classroom and campus experience.
Many reviewers value the show's focus on humane leadership and student-centered outcomes.
The host's energy and interview style are consistently highlighted as engaging and motivating.
Listeners praise practical leadership takeaways and actionable frameworks.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Experiential Education: Why Your Lesson Plan Is Failing Students
Q: What practical steps can teachers take to implement experiential methods in a typical classroom day?
Start with 'connection before content' to build trust, create stretch moments that are just enough to challenge without panicking students, and use reflective practices to connect learning to broader contexts. You don't need special equipment—moments can be designed around everyday situations that provoke curiosity and discussion.
Experiential Education: Why Your Lesson Plan Is Failing Students
Q: What is a common misconception about adventure education and how do you reframe it for educators?
A common misconception is that adventure education requires extreme activities like skydiving. In reality, adventure equals three components: novelty, risk (which can be social or emotional), and a clear learning outcome. The goal is to craft moments that deliver those components without needing a ropes course or outdoor facility.
Experiential Education: Why Your Lesson Plan Is Failing Students
Q: How do you define experiential education, and how does it differ from simply learning from an experience?
Experiential education is intentional, structured learning that uses concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation to transfer learning into real-life contexts. It emphasizes reflection, application, and a cycle of learning rather than just the experience itself.
Why Firing Yourself Might Be Your Best Leadership Move
Q: One of the questions that I wanted to ask you about today is, it kind of bridges up of that, like not having enough time, being stuck in the daily chaos.
They discuss soul-sucking busyness, the mental load of leadership, and how tools like Digital Danny can help leaders reclaim time by focusing on strategic work and empowering others.
Why Your Tutoring Program Is Quietly Failing Students With Aly Murray
Q: So how are you able to provide 24-7 tutoring from humans in minutes—would you describe the logistics of that system?
The system works because Upchieve relies on a large, diverse pool of volunteers who are recruited, screened, trained, and certified. In the early days, Aly herself would tutor at 3am to demonstrate feasibility, and now they have tens of thousands of tutors, with an average two-minute wait time and 24-7 availability.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About This Podcast

What is This Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A leadership-focused show that centers on transforming K-12 schools through bold leadership, experiential learning, and purposeful culture. Episodes regularly explore school turnaround, equity, innovative teaching models, and hands-on approaches to administration, often featuring superintendents, principals, founders, and education pioneers who push for “school different.” The host pairings balance practical leadership tactics with storytelling, highlighting frameworks like cognitive equity, wraparound supports, and real-time coaching, while weaving in actionable takeaways for school leaders, teachers, and district teams. A standout aspect is the consistent emphasis on humane, student-centered outcomes, scalable processes, and community par... more

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this podcast launched 11 years ago and published 395 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on this podcast?

Recent guests on this podcast include:

1. Phil Brown
2. Jenny Curtin
3. Dan Watt
4. Pablo Villavicencio
5. Aly Murray
6. Dr. Adam Wolfsdorf
7. Vanessa Casta%C3%B1eda Gill
8. Jeff Meade

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