Schools of Excellence

As the school year gains momentum, it's easy for school leaders to fall into survival mode—abandoning the very rhythms that anchor sustainable growth, effective school operations, and confident leadership. In this episode of the Schools of Excellence Podcast, Chanie Wilschanski breaks down the essential distinction between anchors and enhancers, and why understanding this difference is critical for school directors managing high-pressure seasons.

If you're facing a surge in enrollment, onboarding new staff, or navigating leadership fatigue, this episode will help you identify the systems, habits, and non-negotiables that protect your energy and peace of mind. Because ru...

In this timely solo episode, Chanie Wilschanski shares a powerful leadership truth every school owner and director needs to hear as the new year begins: what you tolerate in August becomes the culture you’re stuck managing by February.

This isn’t just a motivational pep talk—it’s a wake-up call. As classrooms buzz with fresh energy and bulletin boards get a glow-up, your old leadership reflexes start creeping back in. The skipped 1:1s, the ignored red flags, the well-meaning rescues? They’re not small moments. They’re culture-setting decisions that will quietly shape your entire year.

...

From Burnout to Boundaries: Redefining Female Leadership in Private Education

In this deeply honest and emotionally resonant episode, Chanie Wilschanski invites female school leaders into a transformative conversation about the “impossible standard” of leadership in education. She explores the emotional labor women carry, how over-functioning and people-pleasing lead to burnout, and why leading with warmth shouldn’t come at the cost of boundaries or energy. Chanie offers practical strategies—and powerful mindset shifts—to help leaders reclaim their authority and redefine what it means to lead well.

What You’ll Learn

“Tough conversations aren’t about fixing everything immediately — they’re about understanding each other enough to keep moving forward.”

What does it really mean to be present in a tough conversation? In this episode, we explore how presence—not just words or timing—shapes the quality and outcome of difficult conversations in leadership and relationships.

Key takeaways:

“When enrollment is low, you don’t hire a marketing agency. You examine your identity.”

What do you do when your enrollment numbers drop—but you know you're running a powerful, heart-centered program? In this episode, we unpack what it takes to rebuild enrollment without defaulting to expensive ad agencies or slick marketing campaigns.

Key Takeaways

 “If you don’t decide or name the intention, the season will decide for you.”

How do you move from chaotic, catch-up summers to ones that genuinely renew your family and your leadership? In this behind-the-scenes episode, Chanie shares the intentional framework her family uses to plan summers that serve as a map for the year ahead—grounding their values, relationships, and rhythms.

 Key Takeaways:

“Essentials are not what’s in your handbook. They’re what you do under pressure.”

What do you protect when you're overwhelmed—not in a crisis, but in the daily fog of leadership? In this episode, Chanie explores the crucial distinction between what's urgent and what's truly essential—and why many leaders are still swirling in chaos, despite their experience and commitment.

Key Takeaways:

“We don’t light candles because we’re ready. We light them because it’s time.”

What if energy isn’t something you wait for—but something you create?

In this episode, Chanie opens up about walking through profound personal grief while still leading a team, running a business, and showing up for others. She explores the surprising shift that helped her lead from a place of clarity, even when she felt completely depleted—and why great leadership is anchored not in energy reserves, but in energy rituals.

Key takeaways:

“You can delegate work, but you cannot delegate trust.”

You’ve done everything right—checklists created, SOPs in place, team hired and trained. So why does it still feel like you’re the glue holding everything together? This episode is for the leader who has mastered structure but is still shouldering the soul of the school. We’re unpacking the hidden weight leaders carry, why systems alone aren’t enough, and the critical role that rhythms and rituals play in sustainable culture and freedom.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

How do you keep leading when life knocks you down?

Grief, loss, and hardship don’t pause for leadership responsibilities—and yet, as school owners and leaders, we’re expected to keep showing up, making decisions, and guiding our teams, even in the midst of personal pain.

In this deeply moving and powerful episode, I sit down with Evelyn Knight—TEDx speaker, childcare business coach, and center owner—who has walked through profound loss and emerged with an unshakable commitment to faith, leadership, and emotional maturity.

Inside This Episode, We Dive Into:

You’ve checked the boxes.

✅ Built the center.

✅ Hired the team.

✅ Filled the classrooms

✅ Hit the revenue goals.

On paper, everything looks like a dream.

So why does it still feel… heavy?

In today’s conversation, I sit down with school owner Bri McCarty for a powerful and honest look at the evolution of leadership—from proving and performing to leading with peace, clarity, and purpose.

We explore what happens when you stop building from hustle and start building from alignment. When you stop being the h...

What if the biggest difference between stress and stability wasn’t strategy—but emotional maturity?

In this powerful episode, we explore how emotionally mature leaders rise above chaos, drama, and second-guessing to lead with confidence and clarity. From gossip and manipulation to inconsistent behavior and reactive decisions, emotionally immature environments drain energy and sabotage growth.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Through real stories and practical insights, you’ll learn how to embody emotional maturity and lead a culture of trust, discernment, and accountability.

What you’ll learn:

✅ The 5 behavi...

If drama keeps showing up in your school—it’s not a people problem, it’s a design problem.

In this episode, Chanie unpacks how school leaders can move from managing chaos to designing a culture where drama simply can’t survive.

Using real (anonymized) stories from our work with school leaders, Chanie breaks down five signs of drama-fueled leadership—like gossip, victimhood, and constant complaining—and how they drain emotional and mental energy from your team.

Then, she offers clear tools to shift out of drama and into drama-free leadership that is grounded in...

What if you had a Culture Decoder — a way to see exactly why your school feels stuck in constant chaos?

Every day, you're bombarded with decisions, interruptions, and team confusion. It's not just exhausting — it's cultural.

The truth is, your school culture runs on hidden systems. And when those systems are reactive and unclear, maintenance becomes a drain instead of a strength.

In the fourth episode of the 5 Gears series, we unlock the Culture Decoder hidden inside the Maintenance Gear.

What you’ll learn:

The sixth and final episode in the 5 Gears series, today’s episode focuses on the Strategic Growth Gear. This episode looks a little different from others in the series because strategic growth is not just about building other systems or how to optimize other systems — it's about really understanding when and how to expand your impact.

You’ll learn the four distinct paths of growth:

Imagine if parents didn't just receive updates — they became your biggest champions.

Let me tell you a story. For years, schools have been playing an exhausting game of "communicate and hope." Newsletters flying into inboxes. Random app notifications. Sporadic event invites. Parents scrolling, sighing, deleting.

But what if there was a different way? A way where parents lean IN instead of tune OUT?

The fifth in the 5 Gears series, this episode explores the Parent Engagement Gear.

What you’ll learn:

The fourth in the 5 Gears series, this episode dives deep into the Staff Culture Gear. 

Here’s a surprising truth about staff culture: It's not just about having great benefits or competitive pay. A comprehensive retention ecosystem goes beyond the basics. Using Schools of Excellence’s Retention Intelligence Framework, we examine how school leaders can build an environment where staff can thrive and grow.

What you’ll learn:

Why do some schools effortlessly attract families while others struggle — despite offering the same features, pricing, and programs?

The secret isn’t more Facebook ads or another website refresh. It’s identity.

In this game-changing episode of the Schools of Excellence podcast, I sit down with marketing expert Veronica Romney, author of Identity Marketing, to break down why schools that market with identity — not just benefits — win the enrollment game.

🔥 What You'll Learn in This Episode:

✅ The "Be This" vs. "Buy This" Marketing Shift – Why features and tuition rates don’t drive decisions (an...

Warren Buffett famously said: “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who has been swimming naked.”

Right now, the financial tide is going out. And many school leaders are about to be exposed.

MYTH: As long as your school is mostly full, you're financially healthy.

Many school leaders believe that high enrollment equals financial success. When your classrooms are full and parents seem happy, you might think you're doing great. This myth persists because enrollment numbers are tangible, visible, and feel like an immediate measure of success.

But here's the...

When was the last time you looked at your enrollment numbers and thought, “This is fine?” Many school leaders mistake “not terrible” for “optimal” — and it's costing them more than they realize.

One of our clients, Missy, thought her multi-location program was doing “fine” too. Her center wasn't full, but that was just the nature of that location ... or so she thought.

After implementing three specific systems, that same center enrolled 80 new families for the upcoming school year and five new immediate enrollments — all within 30 days.

The most surprising part? None of these changes required wor...

We know the feeling of trying to juggle everything at once and feeling overwhelmed when we aren’t able to.

That’s why this episode introduces a Schools of Excellence proven framework that will revolutionize your school’s operating system. It’s called the 5 Gears, and it explores the idea that it’s impossible to work on everything at once.  

Today we’re kicking off a 6-part series during which Chanie will break down each of the gears: enrollment, staff retention, parent engagement, financial health, and strategic growth.

In this first episode, you’ll learn

This episode looks a little different. Chanie was recently joined by school leaders wanting to fill their programs without spending a dollar on marketing. 

During this exclusive roundtable replay, three education leaders will share:

The secret to their success isn’t about fancy marketing tactics or complex sales funnels. It’s about having the right system that does the heavy lifting for you.

Rea...

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Mentioned in this episode:

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™ Your school is silently losing thousands every month – money that should be yours. This proven diagnostic reveals exactly where your profit is escaping and how to reclaim it.

Click here to learn more about Money Leaks

The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™

Turn Financial Blind Spots into Immediate Profit. Find Your Hidden Profits with The 6 Money Leaks in Schools™ Your school is silently l...

Every school leader we talk to is feeling the same crushing pressure:

Schools of Excellence has studied hundreds of schools who broke through the enrollment ceiling. They are not spending more money on marketing, a fancy website, or desperate discounts and panic pivots. They have done a complete system overhaul of intentional growth. 

This episode, Chanie walks you through the strategic shifts that you can make today to revamp your enrollment ecosystem.

It all starts with three principles for s...

Millennial and Gen Z parents are engaged in what feels like an academic arms race — treating their children's education like a life or death strategic operation — and for good reason.

On average, these parents will spend a quarter of a million dollars on their child’s education, not to mention the emotional energy and strategic planning they dedicate.

The enrollment pressure compounds as families look for the perfect school and center owners and directors seek to convince them theirs is the right choice. 

Let’s simplify this picture a bit. What if w...

We see how hard you’re working as you continue to lose money to free pre-k programs. We see you losing sleep over next month’s enrollment. We see you struggling to maintain your rates while spots remain empty. 

Now, we want you to pause and answer this question: What are you doing to drive enrollment?

Unfortunately, most school leaders are prioritizing activities that are farthest from the cash. 

Instead of changing the answering machine, try personally calling inquiry families. Instead of rearranging the front desk, try conduc...

This episode looks a little different. Chanie was recently joined by school leaders, just like yourself, who are ready to join the top schools that are growing enrollment by 25% without cutting rates or compromising quality.

What you’ll learn in this workshop replay:

You can turn potential into profit.

Ready to create such compelling value that families can’t help but become a part of your story? Check out...

We know there’s a lot of hesitancy around financial conversations, but let’s overcome that discomfort to acknowledge this truth: enrollment and finances are two sides of the same coin. When we’re content with “fine but could be better” enrollment numbers, we are leaving money on the table. 

Let's say you have two open spots in your Pre-K classroom. It doesn't sound like a lot, but if we do the math, those two spots add up to $2,500 in loss revenue every single month. That's $30,000 a year you could be making. 

We call this a profit bli...

There is an educational extinction event happening right now. You're not just losing students. You are witnessing the systemic dismantling of traditional education.

In the last three years alone, 37 % of private schools have seen enrollment drop by over 20%. And the numbers continue to worsen. But you don’t have to continue fighting just to survive. 

In this episode, you’ll learn how to become irreplaceable by:

Remember: You can find your way out of enrol...

When we struggle with enrollment, we say things like:

Schools of Excellence hears you, but we’re going to flip this narrative…

These are not your real problems. These are symptoms.

In today’s episode, you will learn the three fundamental barriers actually preventing schools from enrolling families right now:

The good n...

Whether you live in a bustling city or a quiet suburban area, the educational landscape is shifting. Schools can no longer depend on default systems or traditional approaches. 

Can you feel it? We’re in the midst of a Great School Enrollment Awakening.

The old enrollment approach feels hollow and artificial. Parents are no longer looking for an institution; they’re seeking a community — one that honors their values and values them as members.

As we react to this shift as leaders, we fall into one of three categories:

Chanie was recently joined by women multi-site owners for a CEO Power Hour to uncover the money leaks in their operations. You cannot listen to this without saving some money. We promise!

In this episode you will learn:

Discover the breakthrough approach used by the elite 1% of women multi-site owners.

To create your 2025 growth plan, hop on a profit finding session with the Schools of Excellence team. https://schoolsofexcellence.com/money-leaks/

Mentioned in this episode:

...

High-achieving leaders understand how to align their goals and actions to drive meaningful progress in their centers.

In this episode, Chanie shares why the schools that will win in 2025 challenge conventional wisdom and embrace discomfort.

Chanie’s five powerful truths that will propel your leadership:

To explore how to join the Schools of Excellence community with leaders ju...

Important reminder for every school leader who’s reading this: 

You’re not just getting by or just managing a school; you’re transforming lives in your center one decision at a time. 

In this episode, Chanie reconnects you to the heart of your mission and why you do what you do by walking through some celebration prompts for what you’ve achieved in 2024.

Need some inspiration to remember?

Treat you...

This episode is for every school leader out there who feels there is no one in their life who “gets” the challenges of being the leader.

In this episode, Chanie is joined by Amy Retchless, an ECE owner from Frederick, Colorado. 

Like all leaders, Amy has experienced various seasons as a school leader. In both the times she’s crushing it and when she needs a little more support, she’s found comfort in the Schools of Excellence community.

What you will learn:

Ashley Perron-Knutson, a fellow ECE leader, found herself at a crossroads with her center. She had to decide whether to continue struggling or commit to becoming the best leader she could be. 



In this episode, Chanie and Ashley discuss how she regained clarity and organization with the frameworks she received as a Schools of Excellence member:

What you will learn:

Can you relate to Ashley and want to know how the...

This episode looks a little different than others. 

November 14th, Chanie was joined by school leaders for an interactive workshop that tackled the complexity of attracting, engaging, and retaining families in 2024.

Are you ready to stop guessing what your families want and start knowing exactly how to connect with every family in your school? 

In this episode, you will learn how to implement 5 power plays:

Need more enrollment? Learn this simple framework.

If you’re over generic solutions that don’t move the needle, and are ready for something tangible that can consistently attract, engage, and retain your families, listen in and register for the New School Playbook Workshop.

Design your new enrollment playbook in only 1 hour with our live interactive workshop - November 14th 

To attend live or get the replay, you need to register at schoolsofexcellence.com/families

Ready to move faster? 

Directors:  Join  the Director’s Inner Circle

Owners:  Join the Ow...

Whether it be election-related stress, end of the year hecticness, or just a busy season of your life, we can all benefit from creating moments of tranquility. Our bodies literally hold this stress inside us. It’s imperative we understand this for our long-term health.

Our mental state deeply impacts our physical state and the other way around. When our brains and bodies feel overwhelmed, it’s especially important to pause, to reset, and to lead from a place of calm and clarity.

What do you do when everything around you feels outside of your cont...

The Playbook for enrolling new families in your school has changed. The old rules of building a website, sending a postcard and holding an open house just don’t work like they used to. 

In previous episodes, Chanie emphasized taking action by knowing your families, speaking their language, being where they are, and training the troops.

Now it’s time to make it happen! Develop a weekly, monthly, and quarterly schedule to strategically adapt to your evolving school families.

In the fifth and final part of the New School Playbook series, Chanie shares what...