#5: Restorative Practices, 100% Staff Retention, and Growing Up in South Africa During Apartheid with Dr. St. Claire Adriaan

In this episode, we talk with Dr. St. Claire Adriaan - principal of Encore High School of the Performing and Visual Arts - about his many personal and professional experiences. We discuss life as a young child growing up in South Africa during apartheid, the importance of education and family, how to have 100% staff retention in a school, the use of restorative practices in schools, and running a school in post-Katrina New Orleans.

Bio for St. Claire Adriaan:

St. Clair Adriaan is a principal at Encore High School for the Performing Arts in Hesperia, California. He was born and raised in apartheid South Africa, where he learned at a young age that education was his best weapon against injustice. Driven by the encouragement of his parents, community, and teachers, St. Clair did everything he could to go to college. He has since earned several degrees, including ones from Dower College of Education, Nelson Mandela University, Rhodes University, the International Institute for Restorative Practices, and the American University of Theology.

In addition to his numerous degrees, St. Clair has received several education awards, including the Disney Teacher Award in 2006 and the Alumni Achiever Award from Nelson Mandela University in 2020.

As a restorative leader and practitioner, he works with schools and organizations around the world to promote restorative practices and combat the school-to-prison pipeline.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/st.adriaan

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ziempie

Core Collaborative: https://www.thecorecollaborative.com/team/st.-claire-adriaan/partner-consultant

Email: sadriaan22@gmail.com

#4: From Choir Director to Administrator: Leadership and Transferrable Skills with Adavion Wayne

In this episode, we talk with Adavion Wayne about making the leap from the performing arts classroom to the front office. Wayne has been a classroom teacher, a department chair, an instructional coordinator, a dean, and an associate principal.

Currently serving as an assistant principal in a 1,400-student middle school in Houston, Texas, Wayne shares his journey to becoming both a teacher, choir director, and building administrator. We discuss the transferrable skills that many arts educators possess and the need to recruit more into formal school leadership. We also talk about Wayne's values-based leadership framework.

This episode is perfect for any arts educator considering building administration. It's also highly recommended for all administrators as they enter the hiring season. We go into detail about why arts educators often make exceptional administrators.

#3: Connecting and Course Correcting: Classroom Management That Works

In this [Podcastable PD] episode, we talk with Darla McClelland [MS Math Teacher and School Support Specialist] about how to connect with kids at the beginning of the year and how to salvage your relationship with a class when things have become toxic.

This episode is perfect for all teachers in the first five years of their careers. Veteran teachers can also learn practical, easy-to-implement strategies that they can use in the classroom tomorrow.

Also, if you're a teacher who is struggling to fix relationships with an entire class, we've got some special tips just for you.

Our thanks to our participating teacher Darla McClelland. Read more about all of our guests at www.peerdrivenpd.com/teacher-bios/.

Just a reminder that this is a Podcastable PD episode. You can listen for free on your favorite podcast provider anytime. Subscribers can complete a short 3-5 minute quiz and get a certificate of completion reflecting PD hours for the length of the episode. Visit www.peerdrivenpd.com for more info.