4.9 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 20 March 2025
⏱️ 40 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Are you considering stepping into a leadership role in education but feeling unsure of where to start? In this episode, I sit down with Starr Sackstein, an experienced educator, consultant, and author, to talk about the journey from teacher to leader. Starr shares her personal story of leaving the classroom, the challenges she faced in leadership, and the lessons she’s learned along the way.
We dive into practical steps for preparing yourself for leadership, how to balance progressive ideas with system demands, and the importance of staying connected to the heart of teaching—your students. Starr offers honest advice on overcoming imposter syndrome, advocating for yourself, and navigating the unexpected responsibilities that often come with leadership roles.
Whether you’re aspiring to lead your department, take on an instructional coach role, or simply want to grow your influence within your school, this episode is packed with insights to empower you to take the next step with confidence.
Tune in to discover:
• How to know when you’re ready to leave the classroom for leadership.
• Strategies for building credibility and trust with your peers.
• Ways to stay connected to students and avoid “initiative fatigue.”
• Practical tips for advocating for your goals and protecting your time.
If you’ve ever wondered whether leadership is the right move for you, this conversation will leave you inspired and ready to take action.
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0:00.0 | Welcome to Episode 323 of Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers. |
0:06.0 | I'm your host, Angela Watson, and I'm here to speak encouragement into the hearts of educators |
0:12.0 | and get you informed and energized for the week ahead. |
0:15.0 | Today, I'm talking with Star Saxstein about moving into leadership roles as a classroom teacher. |
0:27.3 | Visit truthforteachers.com for an easy-to-read, easy-to-share version of this podcast episode. |
0:38.5 | If you're a regular listener of this podcast and you don't fast forward through the beginning of episodes, you may have noticed that the sponsor messages this time and over the last two |
0:43.7 | episodes weren't read by me. I mentioned this back at episode 321, but just in case you miss |
0:50.3 | that, I want to clarify because it is a change for podcast listeners. And I really |
0:55.0 | respect your time and the fact that you have a lot of different shows to listen to. And I try |
1:00.0 | really hard to add a lot of value and not a lot of ads. So I'm not increasing the number of ads |
1:05.9 | you'll hear, but I am experimenting with a new ad format. You've probably already heard this format on other |
1:12.3 | podcasts. They are dynamically inserted ads, meaning they're not a permanent part of the show, |
1:18.2 | and you may hear different ads if you listen to the same episode more than once. So if you listen to it |
1:23.6 | today, there might be a different ad than tomorrow. These ads might also appear in some of the |
1:28.7 | older episodes, but since they're always current, you won't hear outdated info. The ads are |
1:34.5 | automatically inserted by Libson. That's the company that hosts my podcasts. And the specific |
1:40.2 | ads inserted are based on your regional location, so you may hear some local companies |
1:44.9 | advertising. Please know that any sponsor message that I personally read and share with you |
1:50.7 | are companies that I endorse and I partner with. Any ad which I personally don't read, which you |
1:56.9 | don't hear my voice reading the ad to you, that ad was dynamically inserted, which means |
2:02.3 | I don't endorse the ad or even necessarily know which ad each individual listener has heard, |
2:08.1 | because it's different for each of you. I have turned off sensitive categories of ads, |
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