Name: Brad Hoerth

Title: Principal

Organisation: Kiel High School

I have been the principal at Kiel High School since July of 2023. Before becoming a principal, I was a Technology Education teacher for 14 years. I was also a Head Track and Field Coach for 10 years. In 2017 and 2018, I was honored to be named Wisconsin Boys Track and Field Coach of the Year. I have a lovely wife, Holly, who is also an educator, and two children, Ari and Hayden.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Educational Leadership!

I hope Brad's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as an Educational Leader?

I feel that the most challenging aspect of being an Educational Leader is the continuous attention that needs to be put into creating and maintaining the culture that you want your school to have. I started with my why for being an educator and built out my non-negotiables from that. First and foremost, every child deserves to feel supported in their educational journey.

I then took my non-negotiables and looked at how I can begin to influence those around me into building a positive, supportive culture in my building. This takes constant diligence. An educational leader has to be willing to continually have crucial conversations with staff, students, and parents to make sure that the culture you want to see in your building is being cultivated.

2. How did you become an Educational Leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I started my career as a teacher and coach. I served as both a head coach in Track and Field and as an Assistant Football Coach. As my career in teaching and coaching progressed, I found myself taking on more leadership roles and learning more about leadership from the mentors around me. I was very fortunate to work with some of the best leaders in their field, and I used what I learned and observed from them to develop my own leadership style.

I began to realize that I wanted to be able to influence positive change for students on a larger scale. I have never been the type to be complacent with the challenges that I take on. That being said, a family move prompted me to look into becoming a principal. It was the perfect opportunity for me to take on a new challenge professionally.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

As a parent with two young children, balance is an important piece to my day. My mornings consist of my wife and me getting the kids ready for school and dropping them off at school. I then try to arrive at school well before any students enter the building. I help make sure that the day is set up and I touch base with my office staff to make sure there are no pressing needs for the day.

One part of my role as principal that I love is getting into classrooms and interacting with students. I try to do that as much as my day allows. Also, being visible around school for students is important to me and I am continually looking for unique ways to do this. My days are extremely varied depending on what is happening at school and also the time of year. One of the things that I love about the job is that while I have a schedule of meetings I attend, you never quite know what challenges you might face on a day-to-day basis.

I always try to leave school with a "clean plate," so to speak. I do not like the feeling of having anything hanging out there when I leave the building, if I can help it. This also helps me be able to focus on my family when I head home for the day. My nights consist of either going to my children's events or to any events happening at the High School.

4. What's a recent lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of as an Educational Leader?

Always trust and stay true to your core beliefs.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your journey as an Educational Leader so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted you?

The Twin Thieves: How Great Leaders Build Great Teams by Steve Jones and Lucas Jadin. When I was an assistant football coach, our head coach was Steve Jones. Steve is far and away the best leader I have been around. I have been truly blessed to learn the role of being a great leader from him. The year before I left teaching for my current role, Steve also left teaching to become a leadership speaker and coach.

Steve is very well regarded for his leadership coaching within organizations, including large corporations and the Green Bay Packers. When he left, he also wrote this book, The Twin Thieves. The book perfectly encapsulates all of the lessons I took away from my years coaching with Steve about how great leaders lead great organizations.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young educator who aspires to be an Educational Leader, what would you say to them?

If you are interested in becoming the leader within your school or district, start by identifying your "why". Why do you do what you do? Why do you believe what education should be? Why do you choose to dedicate your life to the education of others?

Once you know your own whys, find respected leaders around you with the same "Whys". Observe and absorb everything you can learn from them. Pick their brain on how they operate. Once of the most difficult parts of this job is having the tough conversations that need to be had. How do those leaders approach those conversations? How do these leaders create a great culture around them?

Then take those lessons and try to put them into practice! Lean on those around you and never stop asking questions.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as an Educational Leader, so far?

There are so many things that make me proud of my school and the staff and students within it. I think one of my favorite memories so far was at graduation for the class of 2024. It was at the end of my first year and so many parents and students simply thanked me for making their senior year so much fun and how much they enjoyed the year. One parent thanked me for supporting their child throughout the year, and they were so happy that they decided to send their child to our school for their senior year.