School Superintendent Jay Eitner is a proud product of the New Jersey public schools. A graduate from Union High School in 1997, Jay attended The American University in Washington DC with a BA in interdisciplinary studies. He began his teaching career in Roselle, NJ teaching a variety of subjects, including social studies, computers, and literacy. Known for being ‘outside of the box’ and for strong technology infusion, Eitner strived to make a learning environment that was both student centered and data driven. Jay received his Masters Degree in 2004 and was hired to teach 8th grade social studies in the nationally recognized East Brunswick Public Schools. During his time in East Brunswick, Eitner has written and received over $140,000 in grants for his students. Grants ranged from podcasting equipment to creating a fully-interactive goldrush experience, where students dug for gold during their westward expansion unit. Jay obtained his supervisor, principal, and school administrator certificates from the NJPSA NJ-EXCEL program in 2009. Administratively, Eitner has served as a middle school Assistant Principal, a K-12 Supervisor of Social Studies, and has been a Superintendent of Schools in two districts. Recently, he was the 2015 educators choice pick for the national Superintendent of the Year for the BAMMY awards.

 

Jay discusses his background, how he came to love teaching Social Studies, landing his first superintendency at age 32, his 16 month old daughters, and his love of cooking and travel (and watching the Travel Channel) (2:11)

Setting limits in order to maintain a great work/life balance (10:35)

How a “horrible student” decided to go into education because of the influence of some great teachers that changed his life, and how that shaped his approach to hiring teachers (15:17)

How a terrible experience with a bad administrator, and a terrific experience with an awesome one, worked together to spark Jay’s decision to become a school leader (21:38)

Why Jay decided to let all students bring their cell phones to school, and how that’s working out remarkably well in practice (27:00)

Some of Jay’s early struggles after moving into school leadership (38:40)

Earning respect from veteran staff after becoming a superintendent at age 32 (41:25)

Change freaks people out!! (45:55)

Some great stories about making an impact in students’ lives (49:41)

How international travel has made Jay a much better school leader (54:18)

Twitter is not only one of the best professional development resources for school leaders, it’s also an incredible resource when it comes to finding grant money, and here are some great tips for locating grants on Twitter (59:00)

Two tips for avoiding burnout as a school leader: don’t try to build Rome in a day, and you’re not going to please everyone, so don’t try (1:02:15)

You can’t overestimate the importance of using many different methods of communication, like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, a website, a blog, a Smore.com newsletter, etc. (1:02:46)

Jay’s two favorite books for school leaders (1:03:56)

Know where your students are coming from and where they’re going, and you can always handle any situation you come across (1:07:32)

A cookie cutter approach to working with your teachers won’t work; meet them where they are, because no two are alike (1:08:37)

The worst phrase a school leader can use: “That’s how we’ve always done it here” (1:10:25)

If Jay had a time machine, here’s the advice he would go back and give his younger self when he was just starting out in administration (1:14:30)

 

Books mentioned in this episode

Teach Like a PIRATE: Increase Student Engagement, Boost Your Creativity, and Transform Your Life as an Educator by Dave Burgess

If You`re Riding a Horse and It Dies, Get Off by Jim Grant and Char Forsten

 

Connect with Jay Eitner

@Jay_Eitner

@EitnerEDU

Blog

Eitner Education

 

 

About EducatorsLead:

Educators Lead is a podcast created to help launch educators into the next level of leadership. This show is for you if you are interested in educational leadership as an assistant principal, principal, superintendent, teacher or someone who hopes to be a school leader one day. Educators Lead offers inspiration and practical advice to help you lead more effectively. Jay Willis interviews school leaders three days a week to discuss why and when these educators made the decision to move into school leadership, challenges along the journey, and stories that made it all worthwhile. Educators Lead is a great resource for any educator looking to make a greater impact.

Educate. Inspire. Lead.

http://www.educatorslead.com