‘ROCK STAR PRINCIPALS’ TALK ABOUT EDUCATION
Two Downingtown middle school principals create popular podcast
DOWNINGTOWN » Two Downingtown middle school principals established a “Rock Star Principals” podcast to discuss educational topics, share leadership tips and have fun.
Downingtown Middle School Principal Nicholas Indeglio and Lionville Middle School Principal Jonathan Ross teamed up and created their podcast in September 2013. Doing their homework, the two listened to other podcasts before they gave it a try.
Their first podcast, called “The Rock Star Principals’ Podcast – We’re here!” had a few hundred listeners. Soon after, they created a Twitter account to promote the podcast and later used their podcast to promote their “Rock Star Principals” on Twitter.
With 100,000 downloads of their podcasts, they now they have listeners from all 50 states, more than 100 countries and six continents. They tweeted about Antarctica to get lis-
teners from there, but were unsuccessful.
When Ross relocated near Indelgio in late 2012, the two conversed about work, educational topics and leaders, as well as educational topics at the state and national level. At one point, they thought about recording their conversations, but Ross said they “laughed it off.” Indeglio came up with the idea to create a podcast, originally with a target audience of educators. They selected topics to record that they had already discussed with each other and they recorded a topic at Ross’ house.
“I think it almost started as a goof,” Ross said. “We were like, oh let’s record it, we can put it out there and we’ll see.”
Indeglio said Ross was “huge on content because if people aren’t interested in your content, they’re not going to be interested in your product.” For Indeglio, he wanted to make the podcast sound professional with the music, and when they introduced themselves and their guest speakers. Over the years they have interviewed educators, authors, wrestlers and they hope to interview some movie stars.
Their most listened to podcasts include interviewing Todd Whitaker, an educator who has published more than 40 books on education, and former wrestler Marc Mero. They gained followers after they performed the “no school melody” as a fun way to announce more school closings during the snowstorms in 2014.
In their first podcast, they interviewed Julie Ross, his spouse, to get the perspective of what it is like to be married to a principal. A principal emailed their Rockstar Gmail account and said he wished he heard that podcast before he began his career as a principal because his marriage could have been saved, if he had that perspective back then.
The aforementioned principal, from the Midwest, said in his email that principals need this podcast because “we need to know that we’re not alone, so much of the time we feel isolated.” Ross and Indeglio understand.
“The biggest reason why I think we pick up followers and have people downloading our podcast is because principal-ship is a solitary job,” Ross said. “Being a principal, you are on your own.”
Ross said principals interact with teachers, but there is a fine line between teachers and administrators because the principal is their boss. He said principals at the high school and middle school level can share ideas and receive feedback from assistant principals. However, he said elementary principals typically do not have assistant principals or staff to “bounce ideas off of.”
Ross said the growth of the podcast has allowed principals and teachers to network with each other by sharing ideas and receiving help or guidance with programs. Other educators have begun a dialogue with them after listening to their podcasts and other tips or opinions. They realized that social media has created an accessibility of sharing information and sparking a dialogue.
“Twitter opens the door for the realm of professional development that never has existed before,” Indeglio said. “It’s no more of you have to pull all of your professional development from the IUs (Intermediate Units), now you have a platform and access to all the experts, famous authors, business leaders, all across the globe, and they are all a Twitter handle away.”
Ross and Indeglio have referenced articles in their podcast and then used their Rockstar Twitter account to “tweet” at the author, many who retweet the message. It typically initiates a conversation between the author and other readers.
“It’s like interactive news, almost,” Indeglio said.
Indeglio and Ross review data which informs them how many people are listening to the podcasts to determine which topics people find most interesting. They hope to continue to build upon their coverage of educational topics.
To listen to the podcasts, visit https://www.rockstarprincipals.net/.