April 14, 2025 • 38 mins
From a small-town graduate with a class of 32 students to leading innovative educational programs across multiple school districts, Dr. Josh Wilken's journey reveals how diverse experiences shape exceptional educational leaders.
Dr. Wilken takes us through his remarkable evolution from teaching English learners across seven buildings while coaching multiple sports to becoming a transformative elementary principal. His student teaching experience in Houston—a deliberate step outside his Nebraska comfort zone—fundamentally shaped his approach to supporting diverse student needs and prepared him for increasingly complex leadership roles.
What stands out about Wilken's leadership philosophy is its deeply collaborative nature. "It takes a village to make a building run efficiently," he explains, describing how he learned to harness the collective expertise of teachers, specialists, families, and colleagues to create truly effective educational environments. This approach proved invaluable as he expanded his impact to district-level roles, where he revitalized English learner programming and built the comprehensive "Blueprint" career and technical education initiative encompassing 18 different pathways—an impressive achievement for a Class B school district.
Now serving as a professional learning consultant with Educational Service Unit 3, Wilken shares crucial insights about effective professional development: "We know how valuable an educator's time is... we want to make sure that we're giving the educator something valuable that they can take back to their classroom and implement right away." His emphasis on coaching and sustainable implementation speaks to the practical challenges educators face when trying to improve their practice.
For those considering educational leadership, his advice is refreshingly straightforward: "Be great at your job... see that there's an opportunity to lead right where you are." This mindset has guided his own career transitions, including his upcoming move to financial advising where he'll continue applying the relationship-building skills developed through decades in education.
Ready to be inspired? Listen now to discover how maintaining your educational "fire" can create an impact that "will last for generations."
Email Dr. Josh Wilken at: Jwilken@as-ne.com
Schedule a complimentary consultation for Asset Strategies:
Teach Better Mid Roll Network Ad
Connect with Principal JL Click Here:
Want to be a guest on Educational Leadership with Principal JL?
Send Principal JL a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1742787866678447e5bdb89c1
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Principal JL (00:00):
Today I'm excited and honored to have my friend,
Dr Josh Wilken on the show.
We have known each other sincecollege and have many great
memories throughout our time atthe SHIP" and how our paths have
crossed throughout our careersin education.
Josh has worn many hats ineducation, from teaching to
coaching, from principalship todistrict administrator and now
(00:23):
as a professional learningconsultant with the Education
Service Unit 3, supportingschools across the greater Omaha
area.
His career has been dedicatedto student success, professional
learning, leadership andshaping the future of education.
We'll explore his path, thelessons he's learned and what's
(00:43):
next for him in his career.
Now let's get to theconversation with Dr Josh Wilken
.
Welcome everybody to anotherepisode of the Educational
(01:03):
Leadership Podcast.
Today I am so excited to havemy friend, Dr Josh Wilken here.
He is a guy I've known sincecollege and someone that I you
know, someone that we reallykind of followed each other's
educational career, and so I'mreally excited to bring on Dr
Josh Wilken Welcome.
Dr. Josh Wilken (01:25):
Thank you so much, Jeff.
I appreciate the opportunity.
Principal JL (01:33):
All right, Josh, I'm going to go ahead.
I'm going to dive right into itwhen I ask everybody on this
show what inspired you to becomean educator?
Dr. Josh Wilken (01:38):
Yeah, I think my story is kind of unique in
the sense that, you know, Ididn't know I wanted to be an
educator, or maybe it wassomething that I kind of fought.
Coming out of high school, youknow, I think I was a little
overwhelmed by all of thedifferent choices and
opportunities that were in frontof me and didn't really know
what that was going to be.
Just yet I knew I wanted tohave an impact on people, I
(01:59):
wanted to help others and be ofservice, and that someday that I
wanted to be in leadership.
I just didn't quite know whatthat meant yet, and so I had a
lot of soul searching to do.
I had a lot of reflection to do.
When I graduated, I reallythought back to the folks that
had the greatest impact on mylife and folks who were of
greatest importance andinfluence outside of my family,
(02:21):
and it was my teachers andcoaches, and I think that was
some of the greatest influenceon me becoming an educator.
I think also teachers justtaking a notice in me during
those high school years andthrough that reflection, when I
was tutoring my classmates orsupporting them in class, that
was something that gave me a lotof joy, something I think, came
(02:41):
fairly naturally to me, and Ihad teachers take notice of that
, and so, through theirencouragement and through my own
reflection and thoseexperiences in athletics and in
the classroom, I knew that thatwas something that I wanted to
do and the kind of impact that Iwanted to have on other people
too.
Principal JL (02:57):
All right.
So I kind of want you to walkus through, you know, your early
stages of your career.
This is where you taught K-6English learners while coaching
at the high school level inBellevue.
So kind of talk about thatexperience you had there.
Dr. Josh Wilken (03:15):
Yeah, I started my career, as you said.
I started in Bellevue PublicSchools and I had a very unique
opportunity to be able to teachK-6 English learners.
And I had a very uniqueopportunity to be able to teach
K through 6 English learners.
And when I started in Bellevue,I actually taught in seven
different buildings.
I had 59 students on mycaseload my first year.
I taught kindergartners all theway through sixth grade, and so
I got to see the gamut and hadthe opportunity to work with
(03:37):
students who were born in theUnited States, others who were
born in military bases overseas,bellevue, of course being a
strong military community.
I had students from a varietyof different backgrounds,
cultures, languages, experiences, and it was just so powerful to
be a part of and it was reallyeye-opening for me in my own
professional growth to thinkabout how to support such
(04:00):
students, unique students whobrought so many different
backgrounds and needs of theirown.
And, as you mentioned, I had theexperience of also being able
to coach, and when I started inBellevue, I coached middle
school athletics you name thesport.
I did it, man, and I didn't planon coaching everything, but any
middle school coach knows, onceyou kind of get in that door.
(04:23):
You just enjoy it so much.
There's going to be additionalopportunities and so I coached
permission, middle schoolfootball, wrestling, swimming
track, anything I could get myhands on and I think the reason
for that is it just allowed meto build deeper relationships
with students.
You know, like I said, I got tobe with students in the K-6
level and then at the end of theday kind of switch gears and
(04:46):
show students a different sideof my personality and be able to
build relationships with themin a different way.
And then I was given theopportunity to go up to Bellevue
East High School and coachfreshman football and to be an
assistant coach for the varsityteam and eventually to be a head
varsity swim and dive coach aswell.
And so a lot of greatexperiences in Bellevue as I was
(05:08):
kind of working through some ofmy leadership coursework and
preparing for my next chapterbut kind of built the foundation
for everything that I've doneand I definitely cherish those
years.
Principal JL (05:19):
You bet.
So you kind of had a uniquestudent teaching experience.
I kind of remember this back inour UNK days, where they're
trying to get people to go downto Houston, texas, to do your
student teaching.
So how did the student teachingexperience in Houston, you know
, shape your approach toeducation when you got back into
(05:39):
Nebraska?
Dr. Josh Wilken (05:40):
Yeah, absolutely Nebraska, yeah,
absolutely.
And you know, when we weregoing into student teaching, it
was kind of one of thosesituations where there were so
many students at UNK that werebeginning their student teaching
experience and Texas reallyexpressed a need for student
teachers and to kind of growtheir teaching workforce as well
in Houston, and they gave usthe opportunity to come down
(06:02):
there and teach and it was aneasy consideration for me.
I had never been out ofNebraska, at least not having
ever lived outside of Nebraska,being a kid from Sutherland.
My graduating class had 32students and so the biggest
place I had ever lived up tothat point was Lincoln, nebraska
, and I could see that this wasgoing to be a growing
(06:23):
opportunity for me, a greatadventure and experience to be
out of the state to learn newteaching systems, to learn from
people I had never met ineducation and to work with
students from such diversebackgrounds and really teach in
an urban setting.
That opportunity I had tworoommates.
(06:47):
We loaded up everything that wecould in small cars and we
drove all the way south toHouston, texas, and I had the
opportunity to teach at AliefTaylor High School for physical
education and to help out withtheir sports programs while I
was there and also to teach atAlief Middle School and I taught
English learners grades sixthrough eight middle school and
I taught English learners gradesix through eight.
(07:08):
And so when I think about how itinfluenced my teaching, I think
when I went in and my pictureof what education was was
everything that I had learned inmy coursework, everything that
I had experienced as a smalltown Nebraska kid, you know,
kind of growing up, and I had alot of great opportunities and
experiences, not only as astudent in Sutherland but
through my coursework at theUniversity of Nebraska, kearney.
(07:29):
But going to an urban setting,learning new systems, working
with new teachers and seeing adifferent way of doing things to
support students with so manydifferent needs on a large scale
was really powerful for me.
I think it was just eye-openingfrom the standpoint that
there's a world outside of myworld and that there are
(07:49):
students who have more lifeexperience than I had at that
point actually, and I learned somuch from my students as well
as the teachers that I workedwith, and I think it taught me a
lot about how to deal withchallenging situations, how to
meet a greater level of need forstudents at least you know when
you think about the Englishlearner side of how are you
supporting language andacademics.
(08:11):
I learned so much through thatexperience and I'm still
grateful that I got it.
Principal JL (08:15):
Awesome.
Well, yeah, and when you getthose type of unique experiences
, those things really shape kindof like how we are as educators
.
And it kind of makes me thinkabout one of the reasons why I
didn't stick around Kearney formy student teaching.
I went to Lincoln because Iwanted to see big class A school
.
So I was at Lincoln Southwestfor my student teaching.
(08:36):
So I kind of can relate to that.
I couldn't just go clear toHouston but I thought about it.
But at the same time, you know,it was a great experience in
that way and so I can kind ofrelate.
You know, learning a lot ofthose things being in those
bigger districts kind of kind offind your niche a little bit.
Dr. Josh Wilken (08:53):
Because you know, you're from a small rural
town in Sutherland Nebraskawhich at one time I taught out
in Hershey, which was the youknow.
You know a little rivalry there, but that's right.
So at the same time we bothhave been in small and urban
schools and kind of have thatexperience which is unique, not
(09:13):
a lot of people get thoseexperiences, which I know has
probably shaped you throughoutyour educational career.
So you're kind of doing thisgig in Bellevue, you're coaching
, you're teaching Englishlanguage kids.
What motivated you to move intoadministration, to become a
principal at Karen WesternElementary in the Ralston Public
(09:37):
School District?
What led you to that?
Yeah, you know, as I was goingthrough my master's level work
and my doctoral level work, Igot more and more excited as I
was learning the content andlearning from professors who had
done this work at a high level.
They had been in a variety ofdifferent experiences former
superintendents, directors,positions like that and as I was
(09:59):
learning the content andbuilding those relationships, I
just got more excited about it.
Learning the content andbuilding those relationships, I
just got more excited about itand it really hit me hard.
When I was working through mydoctoral program at UNL, I got
the opportunity to shadow anintern with three different
superintendents and one of themwas Dr Mark Adler, who was
superintendent of Ralston for along period of time, an
(10:20):
outstanding superintendent.
And going through thatinternship with Dr Adler, he
made me feel included andinvolved and important.
From the very beginning.
My first day on the internship,I had a full schedule.
It wasn't this idea of justwatch and learn.
He really made me feel like Iwas a part of the team and that
I was valued and just that styleof leadership and seeing the
(10:44):
kind of impact that he washaving as an administrator and
the way he developed his team.
I said to my wife Cecilia,who's also an educational leader
.
I said you know I'm going towork for Mark Adler someday and
I was extremely fortunate thatthe position at Karen Western
opened up and when it did Ijumped on it.
I still remember the interview,I remember some of the folks
(11:07):
that I got to meet through thatprocess and it was just an
incredible first principalshipfor me and I was extremely
blessed to be a part of thatbuilding the Karen Western
community, the families andstudents there and a wonderful
group of teachers who taught meas much or more as I taught any
of them or any of the students.
(11:27):
They were just truly incredible.
Principal JL (11:29):
Right, yeah, that's.
That is a connection we bothhave.
We both know Dr Mark Adler, butalso we've known each other
since college too.
So it's kind of kind ofinteresting how you know our
lives kind of crossed into.
You know this, you know ineducation throughout our career,
from college now into Ralstonbecause I was blessed enough to
(11:52):
be in Ralston at the same timeyou are and got to know Dr Adler
and be a part of thatleadership academy that he put
on, and so I'm really blessed, Ihad that experience.
And then I remember when I gotthe job here at Hastings High,
Dr Adler made sure that hey,don't mess it up, I'm a proud
alumni.
(12:13):
So you know, having thatconnection with Dr Adler is
pretty great.
So you're working at KarenWestern Elementary there in
Ralston.
How did your leadershipphilosophy evolve in that time
there as you took that principalrole, and how did it shape you?
Dr. Josh Wilken (12:32):
Yeah, you know, when I started at Karen, I was
brand new to educationalleadership.
I hadn't really served asassistant principal or an
administrative intern.
This was my first step was ahead elementary principal, and
so suffice it to say there wasso much learning that had to
happen in the time that I wasthere, and I served as principal
for four years and every day Ilearned something new.
(12:54):
As I mentioned earlier, I wasextremely fortunate to work with
a strong group of teachers,specialists, counselors, school
psychologists, like everybodyinvolved, and one of the things
that I really learned even in asmall building like Karen
Western, it really does take avillage.
It takes a village to make abuilding run efficiently.
(13:15):
And I knew that if I was thefocus, if I was the one trying
to do the work and trying tolead on my own, without the
valuable expertise of the peoplein the building, we just
weren't going to get our goalsaccomplished.
It wasn't going to be effective.
There was just way too muchvalue in the people that we were
involved with there, way toomuch value in the strengths of
(13:35):
our families and the entiredistrict as a collective, and
some of the networking I wasable to do with my colleagues,
you know being that together,having that collaborative
approach, that collaborativecommitment to leadership, I
think made us more cohesive as ateam and allowed us to better
support our kids, and that'ssomething that was quickly
(13:58):
apparent to me, and I'm justextremely grateful that the
(14:18):
teachers, the families, mycolleagues, dr Adler and the
other folks that were inleadership at that time my wife,
dr Cecilia Wilken, everybody ata high level have to be humble
enough to ask a lot of questions, to continuously learn, and
that's what we owe our studentsdistrict level leadership.
Principal JL (14:35):
So kind of take us through how did you go from
elementary principal districtlevel because I believe, if I
remember right, you startedyou're working in that career
technical education side ofthings at the district level.
(14:57):
Kind of take us through howthat evolved, but then how, and
then kind of talk about thatexperience overall.
Dr. Josh Wilken (15:06):
Sure, when I was at Karen Western I believe
it was in my third year I gotthe opportunity to in addition
to being a building principal, Ialso got to lead our district's
English learner program and youknow that was a great
experience for me.
It allowed me to kind of goback to my teaching roots and to
learn more about how we run theprogram in Ralston and how we
(15:29):
support kids and what systems wehad in place and to be able to
collaborate with a tremendousgroup of teachers and really
think about how we continue todevelop that program with a
growing population of students.
During that time our populationcontinued to grow, our program
continued to expand and that wassomething that Dr Adler
(15:49):
recognized through hisleadership and he knew it was
something he wanted toprioritize and really give
additional attention to.
He also saw additional need inthe career and technical
education program for oursecondary students, the programs
namely at Ralston High but alsosome programs at Ralston Middle
School as well, and he and Ihad a conversation and you know
(16:11):
we kind of talked about howthose programs might evolve and
how I might be a part of thatprocess and he developed a
position where I served as acoordinator for both of those
programs and kind of oversawthose teachers and evaluated
those programs and reallythought forward about our
business partnerships andcommunity partnerships, and it
(16:31):
helped me to grow my capacity as, not only on the English
learner program side but withCTE.
That was something I had neverreally been a part of, something
I had never really been a partof, and so yet again I found
myself asking a lot of questions, building my network, going to
people who were doing this at ahigh level, not only in Ralston
but across the entire state.
(16:53):
I drove all the way out toScotts Bluff, nebraska, to learn
about their career educationprograms because I wanted
Ralston's to be the best and Ididn't want to settle for
anything less than that, and sobeing a part of both of those
programs was my full-timeposition.
I moved to the district officebut spent a lot of time in the
high school as well an officethere for a while, building
(17:13):
relationships with students, theteachers who were involved
across the district with Englishlearner programming as well as
CTE, and making businesspartnership connections too.
That would help to supportthose programs with funding and
with human resources to be ableto give us that outside lens of
experience and expertise fromindustry as well.
Principal JL (17:35):
All right.
So I kind of want you to kindof expand upon the career
technical side of things,because that is a huge thing in
education right now is how canwe get kids not just college
ready but career ready?
So when you and I believe, if Iremember right, it was a
program was called blueprint, amI I got that right, correct?
Yep, yeah, so the blueprintprogram at ralston, what impact
(17:59):
did it have for the kidsinvolved with that program?
How did it help them become,you know, just give them
experiences that they could takewith them.
Dr. Josh Wilken (18:10):
Yeah, the Blueprint program created so
many opportunities for studentsand you know it didn't really
matter if there were studentswho were looking at trade
schools, associate degrees,four-year degrees, military
entry into the workforce.
There was something foreverybody idea what they wanted
(18:36):
to do after high school.
It was valuable for them aswell, and one thing that I love
about career and technicaleducation is it helps students
to kind of think about the why,the why of education, why am I
coming to class every day?
Why should I be here?
And it gives them a reason tobe excited about school.
They find purpose in CTEclasses they learn to develop
their skills, their interestsand their workplace values as
well.
(18:56):
And so, being a part of so manydifferent programs and when I
left Ralston, we had 18different programs of study in
which, for a Class B schooldistrict, is substantial
programming, automotiveprogramming, uh, construction,
manufacturing.
We created an agricultureprogram from scratch there were
(19:17):
just so many uniqueopportunities and experiences,
and so I think for many of ourstudents you know they knew what
they wanted to do.
Some of our studentsspecifically like in the trades,
they loved working with theirhands and so giving them an
opportunity to showcase theirtalents and their strengths and
to develop was huge.
And for other students, youknow, they really didn't know
what they wanted to do afterhigh school and so they would
(19:39):
try a little bit of differentclasses, introductory level
courses across many differentdisciplines.
But it gave them a more focusedapproach before they walked out
those doors and across thatstage for graduation and in many
cases it helped to savestudents time, money, college
tuition kind of looking for whatis my next and what should I be
(20:03):
doing A lot of our students gotthat question answered when
they were in high school, thanksin part to career and technical
education
Principal JL (20:10):
Awesome.
Now here at Hastings High wedon't have that big of a career
technical programming but we didstart a work based learning
program, which we're in oursecond year and so, hearing you
talk about those things, ourstudents had a lot of the same
things where they are learninglike, hey, I really like this or
I really don't like this, andwe actually it helps us be a
(20:31):
part of growing our own, we'reout or we're growing our work
base in our community as well astrying to grow our educational
work base as well.
And a lot of the kids that gotplaced into the education side
of things they were paras atelementary.
Almost all those kids decidedI'm going to go to school to be
an educator, and so we can seethat those things are really
(20:55):
impacting their decisions onwhat they want to do, but also
give them the opportunities toexplore these different options
in the career and technical side, and so that we kind of have a
little small program on our end.
But it's something that we'reevolving as we get going and
that's why I wanted you to kindof expand upon that, because I
(21:16):
think a lot of people arelooking for those type of
opportunities for their studentswhen it comes down to just you
know how do you give the kidsmotivation to want to come to
schools.
Besides, just because you haveto type of that, you know what
people say yes, absolutely, asthe law says so.
But we want kids to be excitedto be here and I think that
(21:40):
really does come from the peoplethat lead and the people that
teach within the school district.
You know to make those kidsfeel welcome and all those
things on top of having thoseopportunities.
So I want to kind of transitionfrom your district level
position into your you knowright now your current role as
(22:00):
an educational service unitleader, where you are a
consultant.
So what got you into that?
What made you go?
I'm going to go from here tohere in this situation.
Dr. Josh Wilken (22:13):
You know, I think back to my first years in
Bellevue and I can stillremember my initial year working
with some of the folks at ESU3.
And the consultants in theprofessional learning department
did so much to help me developas an educator and I remember
going through literacy trainingand Boys Town, well-mended
(22:33):
Schools training and so manydifferent things and how that
partnership with the ESU3consultants to be able to train
and coach folks in so manydifferent districts was just so
powerful and had such an impacton me.
So much so that when I movedinto building level leadership I
continued those partnershipsand leveraged those
relationships to be able totrain some of my folks in
(22:57):
professional learning inconnection to our school
improvement goals, ourcontinuous improvement process.
And it was just so powerful andI had such a positive
relationship with so many peoplethere.
I knew that that was a goal ofmine in education was to be able
to have that level of impact onothers, to take the experiences
and the knowledge that I hadacquired through my career to be
(23:19):
able to train others andprovide support to others the
way so many people had done forme at different stages of my
career, and I just saw so muchvalue in that as an educator, as
a leader and that's somethingthat I wanted to bring to other
people being at ESU3, we areextremely blessed to be able to
work with 18 different schooldistricts, some of the largest
(23:40):
school districts in the entirestate of Nebraska, and, as a
professional learning consultant, you know whatever they need
support with, whether that'sinstructional coaching,
leadership support, professionallearning on a variety of
different topics you topics,it's our job to carry that out
and I love that challenge, thecamaraderie of my colleagues in
our department, my boss, drScott Bloom, just so many
(24:03):
wonderful educators who havetaught me so much and continue
to make me better as an educatoras well as a leader every day.
Principal JL (24:12):
So in this role you've seen a lot of different
things, so what would you say isthe biggest challenge for
educators when it comes to theprofessional learning side of
things?
Dr. Josh Wilken (24:24):
Yeah, I think, from an educator standpoint, one
of the challenges is time andmaking the time and being
allowed the time to focus onreflection and coaching and
professional learning, andthat's something that we don't
take for granted at ESU3.
We know how valuable aneducator's time is, and if
they're coming to us for aworkshop or we're coming to them
(24:45):
for a district in-service day,that might be time away from
students, and so we want to makesure that we're giving the
educator something valuable thatthey can take back to their
classroom and implement rightaway.
I think another piece of thisis, you know, making that
transition from professionallearning to implementation and
having the support necessary tobe able to carry that out.
(25:06):
Sometimes, when you go throughprofessional learning, you
gather so much new knowledge andyou're so excited to get
started, but thinking in termsof sustainability and systems
development can sometimes be achallenge, and that's why we
believe so so strongly incoaching and leveraging the
resources in your building,whether those are administrators
(25:27):
, evaluators, directors, whoeverit is who are those coaches
that can help be a support toyou as you're implementing new
practices and really working todevelop your instructional
knowledge and your instructionalimplementation.
Principal JL (25:41):
You kind of knocked two questions out at one
time.
Shout out on that one.
You know that's really greatinformation, just understanding,
hey, when a school come into us, we are going to make sure
we're going to give them highquality training.
That is something that they canutilize and take back and it
can impact their teaching,because when you can impact or
(26:04):
give the teachers some tools inthe toolbox it's going to help
the students learn better andthat's best for everybody.
When you talk about you knowjust your guys' role in the
education side, because not alot of people understand what an
educational service unit reallydoes.
And so just to understand thatinsight on how they can help
(26:26):
school districts get what theyneed so they can develop their
staff is really important.
And I know for me I've been ata small rural school as a
principal and I use the serviceunit extensively.
I'm at a larger district nowwhere I may not have to use it
as much but I still do, and thereason why is people get tired
(26:47):
to listen to me talk anyway.
So if I can bring high qualitytraining in and someone can
deliver that high qualitytraining, it doesn't have to be
me, I'm all for it.
Dr. Josh Wilken (27:01):
Well, and building principals and
directors and folks at differentlevels within school districts
have so many responsibilities.
Right, you have so many thingsthat you have to do to put
students first, have to do toput students first.
That's where I think thatpartnership with the ESU can be
so powerful, because we can helpyou take whatever your vision
is, whatever your plan is, andhelp you to find the resources
(27:23):
or develop the professionallearning and kind of work
together in tandem to be able tocarry it out, to allow you to
be able to carry out yourresponsibilities more
efficiently, because we know youhave so many things on your
plate and that's where I see thepower in that collaboration.
Principal JL (27:37):
You bet.
So what advice do you have foreducators who are considering
moving into a leadership role?
Dr. Josh Wilken (27:46):
First things first, be great at your job, be
a great teacher and, even asyou're looking forward to that
leadership opportunity, see thatthere's an opportunity to lead
right where you are.
Be a leader in your classroom,be a leader in your building.
Seek to serve and to putstudents first always, and let
your intentions be known.
(28:06):
Let your building principal, orwhoever your supervisor is,
know that you're looking to bean educational leadership and
they will give you opportunitiesas you earn them.
You're looking to be ineducational leadership and they
will give you opportunities asyou earn them.
They will delegate to you andwhen you get those opportunities
, take it and run, do the bestyou possibly can and ask
questions through the process,build your network, work with
other people and continue togrow your capacity as you look
(28:30):
for those opportunities.
It's not just looking forward,but also being great right where
you are.
Principal JL (28:35):
That's very powerful to say like you got to
be great at where you're at, butyou have to look for those
leadership opportunities in theclassroom and just around you.
I remember those are somethings I did as a classroom
teacher was try to figure outwhat are some things I could do,
what are some committees Icould be on and talk to your
administration about that.
(28:57):
I know if someone came to meand said, hey, I would like to
be an administrator someday, I'mgoing to find them things to do
because I want to help buildthat capacity, because that's
part of my role as well as aprincipal is to build my staff's
capacity to get them where theywant to be.
So that's spot on.
(29:17):
Great advice there for futureleaders of education out there.
So is there anything thatexcites you most about your
future?
Dr. Josh Wilken (29:30):
I'm extremely excited about what's coming next
for me professionally and I'veenjoyed every single role that
I've had in education.
I've been extremely fortunateand blessed to be a teacher, a
building principal, districtadministrator and now to work at
Educational Service, unit 3.
I've learned so many wonderfulthings and been a part of so
(29:50):
many wonderful systems.
Moving forward, I'm actuallygoing to be taking on a new role
in a new challenge going to beworking for Asset Strategies
here in Omaha as a financialadvisor, and I see so many
connections between this workand the work that I've done in
education.
To me, it's financial educationreally to walk alongside someone
(30:10):
, to be able to coach them, tohelp them meet their goals and
to build a life of wealth.
And the relationship capacitythat I've learned through
education to be able to partnerwith people effectively, to
listen intentionally, I think,is going to make me a more
effective financial advisor.
And, having been a client ofAsset Strategies for over a
(30:31):
decade and working with theirleadership, I know this is a
company that operates withintegrity and aligns with my
values, and they have beenteachers to me in the time that
I've been a client of theirs andI'm really excited to join
their team and it's abittersweet feeling for sure, as
I've loved being a part of ESU3and all of the folks there, and
(30:51):
I look for many of thoserelationships to continue, but
I'm also extremely excited forwhat's next.
Principal JL (31:00):
There, you guys got it.
If you need a financial advisor, I recommend you look up Dr
Josh Wilken here.
He'll do a great job.
I know you personally, Josh.
I know anything that you putyour mind to and anything you
want to accomplish, you're goingto do it.
I think you're going to do agreat job in that role and we'll
(31:22):
probably be talking a littlebit about some of that stuff.
Just because I got to learnmore about.
You know some financialliteracy myself.
So that's it Absolutely.
You know.
I think you know.
I think you know you know justyour journey through education.
It's kind of coming full circle.
Yeah, you may be leaving theworld of education, but the
(31:44):
skills and the things that youlearn you're going to take into
this new role and you're goingto apply those things just in a
different capacity to whereyou're still a leader in an
educational type of role.
It just looks a littledifferent.
So when you think about justleadership and just what
(32:04):
education can lead you to,there's a lot of different
avenues.
You know.
I know a lot of people that gofrom.
You know doing this work,getting into speaking
engagements, and you know doingthings outside of it, but also
having that impact just in adifferent way, and so I applaud
you on that, and I know you'regoing to be great when you hit
(32:28):
that challenge, um, and so Iwill, of course, you know, be
rooting for you and we'll we'llkeep in touch on those things as
we go.
So, before we get um, before wewrap everything up, I'd like
you to give your final thoughts.
What's your final message?
You want to leave educators outthere when it comes to just
(32:50):
being in education and how theycan be successful educational
leaders.
Dr. Josh Wilken (32:57):
I don't think educators or educational leaders
can hear that enough.
They deserve to hear it everysingle day.
This is definitely one of themost challenging roles, the most
challenging careers there couldpossibly be and for the people
who do this at a high level,regardless of what your role is
(33:18):
as an educator if you're aclassroom teacher, a principal,
a director, you're an educatorand you put students first and
those that put the extra timeand energy and care and love
into what they do to putstudents at the forefront of
this work valuable and on thetoughest days, on the most
challenging days, when youquestion yourself, always think
(33:48):
about what you're doing forstudents and putting students
first and keep that fire.
Keep that fire that got youstarted.
Remember your why and the firethat's burning within you is
definitely brighter than thefire that's burning around you
and I hope you know that youmatter and keep showing up for
kids and know that your impact,regardless of your role, will
(34:09):
last for generations.
Principal JL (34:12):
Boom, you just put it all in one nice package
there.
That was awesome.
That was a powerful statement.
I really loved everything aboutit there.
Now, Josh, this was a greatinterview.
I love having you on the show.
Of course, I'm going to putsome information about you down
in the show notes.
So if people want, need afinancial advisor, I'm going to
(34:34):
get you guys that information soyou can just link into it and
we'll get you connected withJosh on those things.
And so, Josh, it's been greatto have you.
Thank you for coming on theshow today.
Dr. Josh Wilken (34:45):
Thank you so much, Jeff.
I appreciate the opportunityand, if anyone has any questions
about the interview or aboutnext steps with Asset Strategies
, I look forward to hearing fromyou and look forward to the
conversations.
Principal JL (34:58):
You bet.
All right, Josh, that's it forthe day.
Dr. Josh Wilken (35:01):
All right, thank you, Jeff.
Have a good day.
Principal JL (35:04):
Wow, what a great conversation with my dear friend
, Dr Josh Wilken.
I hope you enjoyed theconversation as much as I did,
and if you enjoyed today'sepisode, don't forget to
subscribe and share this episodewith someone you know who would
get value from it.
And don't forget to leave areview Until next time.
(35:26):
Always be 1% better.
Today I'm excited and honored to have my friend,
Dr Josh Wilken on the show.
We have known each other sincecollege and have many great
memories throughout our time atthe SHIP" and how our paths have
crossed throughout our careersin education.
Josh has worn many hats ineducation, from teaching to
coaching, from principalship todistrict administrator and now
(00:23):
as a professional learningconsultant with the Education
Service Unit 3, supportingschools across the greater Omaha
area.
His career has been dedicatedto student success, professional
learning, leadership andshaping the future of education.
We'll explore his path, thelessons he's learned and what's
(00:43):
next for him in his career.
Now let's get to theconversation with Dr Josh Wilken
.
Welcome everybody to anotherepisode of the Educational
(01:03):
Leadership Podcast.
Today I am so excited to havemy friend, Dr Josh Wilken here.
He is a guy I've known sincecollege and someone that I you
know, someone that we reallykind of followed each other's
educational career, and so I'mreally excited to bring on Dr
Josh Wilken Welcome.
Dr. Josh Wilken (01:25):
Thank you so much, Jeff.
I appreciate the opportunity.
Principal JL (01:33):
All right, Josh, I'm going to go ahead.
I'm going to dive right into itwhen I ask everybody on this
show what inspired you to becomean educator?
Dr. Josh Wilken (01:38):
Yeah, I think my story is kind of unique in
the sense that, you know, Ididn't know I wanted to be an
educator, or maybe it wassomething that I kind of fought.
Coming out of high school, youknow, I think I was a little
overwhelmed by all of thedifferent choices and
opportunities that were in frontof me and didn't really know
what that was going to be.
Just yet I knew I wanted tohave an impact on people, I
(01:59):
wanted to help others and be ofservice, and that someday that I
wanted to be in leadership.
I just didn't quite know whatthat meant yet, and so I had a
lot of soul searching to do.
I had a lot of reflection to do.
When I graduated, I reallythought back to the folks that
had the greatest impact on mylife and folks who were of
greatest importance andinfluence outside of my family,
(02:21):
and it was my teachers andcoaches, and I think that was
some of the greatest influenceon me becoming an educator.
I think also teachers justtaking a notice in me during
those high school years andthrough that reflection, when I
was tutoring my classmates orsupporting them in class, that
was something that gave me a lotof joy, something I think, came
(02:41):
fairly naturally to me, and Ihad teachers take notice of that
, and so, through theirencouragement and through my own
reflection and thoseexperiences in athletics and in
the classroom, I knew that thatwas something that I wanted to
do and the kind of impact that Iwanted to have on other people
too.
Principal JL (02:57):
All right.
So I kind of want you to walkus through, you know, your early
stages of your career.
This is where you taught K-6English learners while coaching
at the high school level inBellevue.
So kind of talk about thatexperience you had there.
Dr. Josh Wilken (03:15):
Yeah, I started my career, as you said.
I started in Bellevue PublicSchools and I had a very unique
opportunity to be able to teachK-6 English learners.
And I had a very uniqueopportunity to be able to teach
K through 6 English learners.
And when I started in Bellevue,I actually taught in seven
different buildings.
I had 59 students on mycaseload my first year.
I taught kindergartners all theway through sixth grade, and so
I got to see the gamut and hadthe opportunity to work with
(03:37):
students who were born in theUnited States, others who were
born in military bases overseas,bellevue, of course being a
strong military community.
I had students from a varietyof different backgrounds,
cultures, languages, experiences, and it was just so powerful to
be a part of and it was reallyeye-opening for me in my own
professional growth to thinkabout how to support such
(04:00):
students, unique students whobrought so many different
backgrounds and needs of theirown.
And, as you mentioned, I had theexperience of also being able
to coach, and when I started inBellevue, I coached middle
school athletics you name thesport.
I did it, man, and I didn't planon coaching everything, but any
middle school coach knows, onceyou kind of get in that door.
(04:23):
You just enjoy it so much.
There's going to be additionalopportunities and so I coached
permission, middle schoolfootball, wrestling, swimming
track, anything I could get myhands on and I think the reason
for that is it just allowed meto build deeper relationships
with students.
You know, like I said, I got tobe with students in the K-6
level and then at the end of theday kind of switch gears and
(04:46):
show students a different sideof my personality and be able to
build relationships with themin a different way.
And then I was given theopportunity to go up to Bellevue
East High School and coachfreshman football and to be an
assistant coach for the varsityteam and eventually to be a head
varsity swim and dive coach aswell.
And so a lot of greatexperiences in Bellevue as I was
(05:08):
kind of working through some ofmy leadership coursework and
preparing for my next chapterbut kind of built the foundation
for everything that I've doneand I definitely cherish those
years.
Principal JL (05:19):
You bet.
So you kind of had a uniquestudent teaching experience.
I kind of remember this back inour UNK days, where they're
trying to get people to go downto Houston, texas, to do your
student teaching.
So how did the student teachingexperience in Houston, you know
, shape your approach toeducation when you got back into
(05:39):
Nebraska?
Dr. Josh Wilken (05:40):
Yeah, absolutely Nebraska, yeah,
absolutely.
And you know, when we weregoing into student teaching, it
was kind of one of thosesituations where there were so
many students at UNK that werebeginning their student teaching
experience and Texas reallyexpressed a need for student
teachers and to kind of growtheir teaching workforce as well
in Houston, and they gave usthe opportunity to come down
(06:02):
there and teach and it was aneasy consideration for me.
I had never been out ofNebraska, at least not having
ever lived outside of Nebraska,being a kid from Sutherland.
My graduating class had 32students and so the biggest
place I had ever lived up tothat point was Lincoln, nebraska
, and I could see that this wasgoing to be a growing
(06:23):
opportunity for me, a greatadventure and experience to be
out of the state to learn newteaching systems, to learn from
people I had never met ineducation and to work with
students from such diversebackgrounds and really teach in
an urban setting.
That opportunity I had tworoommates.
(06:47):
We loaded up everything that wecould in small cars and we
drove all the way south toHouston, texas, and I had the
opportunity to teach at AliefTaylor High School for physical
education and to help out withtheir sports programs while I
was there and also to teach atAlief Middle School and I taught
English learners grades sixthrough eight middle school and
I taught English learners gradesix through eight.
(07:08):
And so when I think about how itinfluenced my teaching, I think
when I went in and my pictureof what education was was
everything that I had learned inmy coursework, everything that
I had experienced as a smalltown Nebraska kid, you know,
kind of growing up, and I had alot of great opportunities and
experiences, not only as astudent in Sutherland but
through my coursework at theUniversity of Nebraska, kearney.
(07:29):
But going to an urban setting,learning new systems, working
with new teachers and seeing adifferent way of doing things to
support students with so manydifferent needs on a large scale
was really powerful for me.
I think it was just eye-openingfrom the standpoint that
there's a world outside of myworld and that there are
(07:49):
students who have more lifeexperience than I had at that
point actually, and I learned somuch from my students as well
as the teachers that I workedwith, and I think it taught me a
lot about how to deal withchallenging situations, how to
meet a greater level of need forstudents at least you know when
you think about the Englishlearner side of how are you
supporting language andacademics.
(08:11):
I learned so much through thatexperience and I'm still
grateful that I got it.
Principal JL (08:15):
Awesome.
Well, yeah, and when you getthose type of unique experiences
, those things really shape kindof like how we are as educators
.
And it kind of makes me thinkabout one of the reasons why I
didn't stick around Kearney formy student teaching.
I went to Lincoln because Iwanted to see big class A school
.
So I was at Lincoln Southwestfor my student teaching.
(08:36):
So I kind of can relate to that.
I couldn't just go clear toHouston but I thought about it.
But at the same time, you know,it was a great experience in
that way and so I can kind ofrelate.
You know, learning a lot ofthose things being in those
bigger districts kind of kind offind your niche a little bit.
Dr. Josh Wilken (08:53):
Because you know, you're from a small rural
town in Sutherland Nebraskawhich at one time I taught out
in Hershey, which was the youknow.
You know a little rivalry there, but that's right.
So at the same time we bothhave been in small and urban
schools and kind of have thatexperience which is unique, not
(09:13):
a lot of people get thoseexperiences, which I know has
probably shaped you throughoutyour educational career.
So you're kind of doing thisgig in Bellevue, you're coaching
, you're teaching Englishlanguage kids.
What motivated you to move intoadministration, to become a
principal at Karen WesternElementary in the Ralston Public
(09:37):
School District?
What led you to that?
Yeah, you know, as I was goingthrough my master's level work
and my doctoral level work, Igot more and more excited as I
was learning the content andlearning from professors who had
done this work at a high level.
They had been in a variety ofdifferent experiences former
superintendents, directors,positions like that and as I was
(09:59):
learning the content andbuilding those relationships, I
just got more excited about it.
Learning the content andbuilding those relationships, I
just got more excited about itand it really hit me hard.
When I was working through mydoctoral program at UNL, I got
the opportunity to shadow anintern with three different
superintendents and one of themwas Dr Mark Adler, who was
superintendent of Ralston for along period of time, an
(10:20):
outstanding superintendent.
And going through thatinternship with Dr Adler, he
made me feel included andinvolved and important.
From the very beginning.
My first day on the internship,I had a full schedule.
It wasn't this idea of justwatch and learn.
He really made me feel like Iwas a part of the team and that
I was valued and just that styleof leadership and seeing the
(10:44):
kind of impact that he washaving as an administrator and
the way he developed his team.
I said to my wife Cecilia,who's also an educational leader
.
I said you know I'm going towork for Mark Adler someday and
I was extremely fortunate thatthe position at Karen Western
opened up and when it did Ijumped on it.
I still remember the interview,I remember some of the folks
(11:07):
that I got to meet through thatprocess and it was just an
incredible first principalshipfor me and I was extremely
blessed to be a part of thatbuilding the Karen Western
community, the families andstudents there and a wonderful
group of teachers who taught meas much or more as I taught any
of them or any of the students.
(11:27):
They were just truly incredible.
Principal JL (11:29):
Right, yeah, that's.
That is a connection we bothhave.
We both know Dr Mark Adler, butalso we've known each other
since college too.
So it's kind of kind ofinteresting how you know our
lives kind of crossed into.
You know this, you know ineducation throughout our career,
from college now into Ralstonbecause I was blessed enough to
(11:52):
be in Ralston at the same timeyou are and got to know Dr Adler
and be a part of thatleadership academy that he put
on, and so I'm really blessed, Ihad that experience.
And then I remember when I gotthe job here at Hastings High,
Dr Adler made sure that hey,don't mess it up, I'm a proud
alumni.
(12:13):
So you know, having thatconnection with Dr Adler is
pretty great.
So you're working at KarenWestern Elementary there in
Ralston.
How did your leadershipphilosophy evolve in that time
there as you took that principalrole, and how did it shape you?
Dr. Josh Wilken (12:32):
Yeah, you know, when I started at Karen, I was
brand new to educationalleadership.
I hadn't really served asassistant principal or an
administrative intern.
This was my first step was ahead elementary principal, and
so suffice it to say there wasso much learning that had to
happen in the time that I wasthere, and I served as principal
for four years and every day Ilearned something new.
(12:54):
As I mentioned earlier, I wasextremely fortunate to work with
a strong group of teachers,specialists, counselors, school
psychologists, like everybodyinvolved, and one of the things
that I really learned even in asmall building like Karen
Western, it really does take avillage.
It takes a village to make abuilding run efficiently.
(13:15):
And I knew that if I was thefocus, if I was the one trying
to do the work and trying tolead on my own, without the
valuable expertise of the peoplein the building, we just
weren't going to get our goalsaccomplished.
It wasn't going to be effective.
There was just way too muchvalue in the people that we were
involved with there, way toomuch value in the strengths of
(13:35):
our families and the entiredistrict as a collective, and
some of the networking I wasable to do with my colleagues,
you know being that together,having that collaborative
approach, that collaborativecommitment to leadership, I
think made us more cohesive as ateam and allowed us to better
support our kids, and that'ssomething that was quickly
(13:58):
apparent to me, and I'm justextremely grateful that the
(14:18):
teachers, the families, mycolleagues, dr Adler and the
other folks that were inleadership at that time my wife,
dr Cecilia Wilken, everybody ata high level have to be humble
enough to ask a lot of questions, to continuously learn, and
that's what we owe our studentsdistrict level leadership.
Principal JL (14:35):
So kind of take us through how did you go from
elementary principal districtlevel because I believe, if I
remember right, you startedyou're working in that career
technical education side ofthings at the district level.
(14:57):
Kind of take us through howthat evolved, but then how, and
then kind of talk about thatexperience overall.
Dr. Josh Wilken (15:06):
Sure, when I was at Karen Western I believe
it was in my third year I gotthe opportunity to in addition
to being a building principal, Ialso got to lead our district's
English learner program and youknow that was a great
experience for me.
It allowed me to kind of goback to my teaching roots and to
learn more about how we run theprogram in Ralston and how we
(15:29):
support kids and what systems wehad in place and to be able to
collaborate with a tremendousgroup of teachers and really
think about how we continue todevelop that program with a
growing population of students.
During that time our populationcontinued to grow, our program
continued to expand and that wassomething that Dr Adler
(15:49):
recognized through hisleadership and he knew it was
something he wanted toprioritize and really give
additional attention to.
He also saw additional need inthe career and technical
education program for oursecondary students, the programs
namely at Ralston High but alsosome programs at Ralston Middle
School as well, and he and Ihad a conversation and you know
(16:11):
we kind of talked about howthose programs might evolve and
how I might be a part of thatprocess and he developed a
position where I served as acoordinator for both of those
programs and kind of oversawthose teachers and evaluated
those programs and reallythought forward about our
business partnerships andcommunity partnerships, and it
(16:31):
helped me to grow my capacity as, not only on the English
learner program side but withCTE.
That was something I had neverreally been a part of, something
I had never really been a partof, and so yet again I found
myself asking a lot of questions, building my network, going to
people who were doing this at ahigh level, not only in Ralston
but across the entire state.
(16:53):
I drove all the way out toScotts Bluff, nebraska, to learn
about their career educationprograms because I wanted
Ralston's to be the best and Ididn't want to settle for
anything less than that, and sobeing a part of both of those
programs was my full-timeposition.
I moved to the district officebut spent a lot of time in the
high school as well an officethere for a while, building
(17:13):
relationships with students, theteachers who were involved
across the district with Englishlearner programming as well as
CTE, and making businesspartnership connections too.
That would help to supportthose programs with funding and
with human resources to be ableto give us that outside lens of
experience and expertise fromindustry as well.
Principal JL (17:35):
All right.
So I kind of want you to kindof expand upon the career
technical side of things,because that is a huge thing in
education right now is how canwe get kids not just college
ready but career ready?
So when you and I believe, if Iremember right, it was a
program was called blueprint, amI I got that right, correct?
Yep, yeah, so the blueprintprogram at ralston, what impact
(17:59):
did it have for the kidsinvolved with that program?
How did it help them become,you know, just give them
experiences that they could takewith them.
Dr. Josh Wilken (18:10):
Yeah, the Blueprint program created so
many opportunities for studentsand you know it didn't really
matter if there were studentswho were looking at trade
schools, associate degrees,four-year degrees, military
entry into the workforce.
There was something foreverybody idea what they wanted
(18:36):
to do after high school.
It was valuable for them aswell, and one thing that I love
about career and technicaleducation is it helps students
to kind of think about the why,the why of education, why am I
coming to class every day?
Why should I be here?
And it gives them a reason tobe excited about school.
They find purpose in CTEclasses they learn to develop
their skills, their interestsand their workplace values as
well.
(18:56):
And so, being a part of so manydifferent programs and when I
left Ralston, we had 18different programs of study in
which, for a Class B schooldistrict, is substantial
programming, automotiveprogramming, uh, construction,
manufacturing.
We created an agricultureprogram from scratch there were
(19:17):
just so many uniqueopportunities and experiences,
and so I think for many of ourstudents you know they knew what
they wanted to do.
Some of our studentsspecifically like in the trades,
they loved working with theirhands and so giving them an
opportunity to showcase theirtalents and their strengths and
to develop was huge.
And for other students, youknow, they really didn't know
what they wanted to do afterhigh school and so they would
(19:39):
try a little bit of differentclasses, introductory level
courses across many differentdisciplines.
But it gave them a more focusedapproach before they walked out
those doors and across thatstage for graduation and in many
cases it helped to savestudents time, money, college
tuition kind of looking for whatis my next and what should I be
(20:03):
doing A lot of our students gotthat question answered when
they were in high school, thanksin part to career and technical
education
Principal JL (20:10):
Awesome.
Now here at Hastings High wedon't have that big of a career
technical programming but we didstart a work based learning
program, which we're in oursecond year and so, hearing you
talk about those things, ourstudents had a lot of the same
things where they are learninglike, hey, I really like this or
I really don't like this, andwe actually it helps us be a
(20:31):
part of growing our own, we'reout or we're growing our work
base in our community as well astrying to grow our educational
work base as well.
And a lot of the kids that gotplaced into the education side
of things they were paras atelementary.
Almost all those kids decidedI'm going to go to school to be
an educator, and so we can seethat those things are really
(20:55):
impacting their decisions onwhat they want to do, but also
give them the opportunities toexplore these different options
in the career and technical side, and so that we kind of have a
little small program on our end.
But it's something that we'reevolving as we get going and
that's why I wanted you to kindof expand upon that, because I
(21:16):
think a lot of people arelooking for those type of
opportunities for their studentswhen it comes down to just you
know how do you give the kidsmotivation to want to come to
schools.
Besides, just because you haveto type of that, you know what
people say yes, absolutely, asthe law says so.
But we want kids to be excitedto be here and I think that
(21:40):
really does come from the peoplethat lead and the people that
teach within the school district.
You know to make those kidsfeel welcome and all those
things on top of having thoseopportunities.
So I want to kind of transitionfrom your district level
position into your you knowright now your current role as
(22:00):
an educational service unitleader, where you are a
consultant.
So what got you into that?
What made you go?
I'm going to go from here tohere in this situation.
Dr. Josh Wilken (22:13):
You know, I think back to my first years in
Bellevue and I can stillremember my initial year working
with some of the folks at ESU3.
And the consultants in theprofessional learning department
did so much to help me developas an educator and I remember
going through literacy trainingand Boys Town, well-mended
(22:33):
Schools training and so manydifferent things and how that
partnership with the ESU3consultants to be able to train
and coach folks in so manydifferent districts was just so
powerful and had such an impacton me.
So much so that when I movedinto building level leadership I
continued those partnershipsand leveraged those
relationships to be able totrain some of my folks in
(22:57):
professional learning inconnection to our school
improvement goals, ourcontinuous improvement process.
And it was just so powerful andI had such a positive
relationship with so many peoplethere.
I knew that that was a goal ofmine in education was to be able
to have that level of impact onothers, to take the experiences
and the knowledge that I hadacquired through my career to be
(23:19):
able to train others andprovide support to others the
way so many people had done forme at different stages of my
career, and I just saw so muchvalue in that as an educator, as
a leader and that's somethingthat I wanted to bring to other
people being at ESU3, we areextremely blessed to be able to
work with 18 different schooldistricts, some of the largest
(23:40):
school districts in the entirestate of Nebraska, and, as a
professional learning consultant, you know whatever they need
support with, whether that'sinstructional coaching,
leadership support, professionallearning on a variety of
different topics you topics,it's our job to carry that out
and I love that challenge, thecamaraderie of my colleagues in
our department, my boss, drScott Bloom, just so many
(24:03):
wonderful educators who havetaught me so much and continue
to make me better as an educatoras well as a leader every day.
Principal JL (24:12):
So in this role you've seen a lot of different
things, so what would you say isthe biggest challenge for
educators when it comes to theprofessional learning side of
things?
Dr. Josh Wilken (24:24):
Yeah, I think, from an educator standpoint, one
of the challenges is time andmaking the time and being
allowed the time to focus onreflection and coaching and
professional learning, andthat's something that we don't
take for granted at ESU3.
We know how valuable aneducator's time is, and if
they're coming to us for aworkshop or we're coming to them
(24:45):
for a district in-service day,that might be time away from
students, and so we want to makesure that we're giving the
educator something valuable thatthey can take back to their
classroom and implement rightaway.
I think another piece of thisis, you know, making that
transition from professionallearning to implementation and
having the support necessary tobe able to carry that out.
(25:06):
Sometimes, when you go throughprofessional learning, you
gather so much new knowledge andyou're so excited to get
started, but thinking in termsof sustainability and systems
development can sometimes be achallenge, and that's why we
believe so so strongly incoaching and leveraging the
resources in your building,whether those are administrators
(25:27):
, evaluators, directors, whoeverit is who are those coaches
that can help be a support toyou as you're implementing new
practices and really working todevelop your instructional
knowledge and your instructionalimplementation.
Principal JL (25:41):
You kind of knocked two questions out at one
time.
Shout out on that one.
You know that's really greatinformation, just understanding,
hey, when a school come into us, we are going to make sure
we're going to give them highquality training.
That is something that they canutilize and take back and it
can impact their teaching,because when you can impact or
(26:04):
give the teachers some tools inthe toolbox it's going to help
the students learn better andthat's best for everybody.
When you talk about you knowjust your guys' role in the
education side, because not alot of people understand what an
educational service unit reallydoes.
And so just to understand thatinsight on how they can help
(26:26):
school districts get what theyneed so they can develop their
staff is really important.
And I know for me I've been ata small rural school as a
principal and I use the serviceunit extensively.
I'm at a larger district nowwhere I may not have to use it
as much but I still do, and thereason why is people get tired
(26:47):
to listen to me talk anyway.
So if I can bring high qualitytraining in and someone can
deliver that high qualitytraining, it doesn't have to be
me, I'm all for it.
Dr. Josh Wilken (27:01):
Well, and building principals and
directors and folks at differentlevels within school districts
have so many responsibilities.
Right, you have so many thingsthat you have to do to put
students first, have to do toput students first.
That's where I think thatpartnership with the ESU can be
so powerful, because we can helpyou take whatever your vision
is, whatever your plan is, andhelp you to find the resources
(27:23):
or develop the professionallearning and kind of work
together in tandem to be able tocarry it out, to allow you to
be able to carry out yourresponsibilities more
efficiently, because we know youhave so many things on your
plate and that's where I see thepower in that collaboration.
Principal JL (27:37):
You bet.
So what advice do you have foreducators who are considering
moving into a leadership role?
Dr. Josh Wilken (27:46):
First things first, be great at your job, be
a great teacher and, even asyou're looking forward to that
leadership opportunity, see thatthere's an opportunity to lead
right where you are.
Be a leader in your classroom,be a leader in your building.
Seek to serve and to putstudents first always, and let
your intentions be known.
(28:06):
Let your building principal, orwhoever your supervisor is,
know that you're looking to bean educational leadership and
they will give you opportunitiesas you earn them.
You're looking to be ineducational leadership and they
will give you opportunities asyou earn them.
They will delegate to you andwhen you get those opportunities
, take it and run, do the bestyou possibly can and ask
questions through the process,build your network, work with
other people and continue togrow your capacity as you look
(28:30):
for those opportunities.
It's not just looking forward,but also being great right where
you are.
Principal JL (28:35):
That's very powerful to say like you got to
be great at where you're at, butyou have to look for those
leadership opportunities in theclassroom and just around you.
I remember those are somethings I did as a classroom
teacher was try to figure outwhat are some things I could do,
what are some committees Icould be on and talk to your
administration about that.
(28:57):
I know if someone came to meand said, hey, I would like to
be an administrator someday, I'mgoing to find them things to do
because I want to help buildthat capacity, because that's
part of my role as well as aprincipal is to build my staff's
capacity to get them where theywant to be.
So that's spot on.
(29:17):
Great advice there for futureleaders of education out there.
So is there anything thatexcites you most about your
future?
Dr. Josh Wilken (29:30):
I'm extremely excited about what's coming next
for me professionally and I'veenjoyed every single role that
I've had in education.
I've been extremely fortunateand blessed to be a teacher, a
building principal, districtadministrator and now to work at
Educational Service, unit 3.
I've learned so many wonderfulthings and been a part of so
(29:50):
many wonderful systems.
Moving forward, I'm actuallygoing to be taking on a new role
in a new challenge going to beworking for Asset Strategies
here in Omaha as a financialadvisor, and I see so many
connections between this workand the work that I've done in
education.
To me, it's financial educationreally to walk alongside someone
(30:10):
, to be able to coach them, tohelp them meet their goals and
to build a life of wealth.
And the relationship capacitythat I've learned through
education to be able to partnerwith people effectively, to
listen intentionally, I think,is going to make me a more
effective financial advisor.
And, having been a client ofAsset Strategies for over a
(30:31):
decade and working with theirleadership, I know this is a
company that operates withintegrity and aligns with my
values, and they have beenteachers to me in the time that
I've been a client of theirs andI'm really excited to join
their team and it's abittersweet feeling for sure, as
I've loved being a part of ESU3and all of the folks there, and
(30:51):
I look for many of thoserelationships to continue, but
I'm also extremely excited forwhat's next.
Principal JL (31:00):
There, you guys got it.
If you need a financial advisor, I recommend you look up Dr
Josh Wilken here.
He'll do a great job.
I know you personally, Josh.
I know anything that you putyour mind to and anything you
want to accomplish, you're goingto do it.
I think you're going to do agreat job in that role and we'll
(31:22):
probably be talking a littlebit about some of that stuff.
Just because I got to learnmore about.
You know some financialliteracy myself.
So that's it Absolutely.
You know.
I think you know.
I think you know you know justyour journey through education.
It's kind of coming full circle.
Yeah, you may be leaving theworld of education, but the
(31:44):
skills and the things that youlearn you're going to take into
this new role and you're goingto apply those things just in a
different capacity to whereyou're still a leader in an
educational type of role.
It just looks a littledifferent.
So when you think about justleadership and just what
(32:04):
education can lead you to,there's a lot of different
avenues.
You know.
I know a lot of people that gofrom.
You know doing this work,getting into speaking
engagements, and you know doingthings outside of it, but also
having that impact just in adifferent way, and so I applaud
you on that, and I know you'regoing to be great when you hit
(32:28):
that challenge, um, and so Iwill, of course, you know, be
rooting for you and we'll we'llkeep in touch on those things as
we go.
So, before we get um, before wewrap everything up, I'd like
you to give your final thoughts.
What's your final message?
You want to leave educators outthere when it comes to just
(32:50):
being in education and how theycan be successful educational
leaders.
Dr. Josh Wilken (32:57):
I don't think educators or educational leaders
can hear that enough.
They deserve to hear it everysingle day.
This is definitely one of themost challenging roles, the most
challenging careers there couldpossibly be and for the people
who do this at a high level,regardless of what your role is
(33:18):
as an educator if you're aclassroom teacher, a principal,
a director, you're an educatorand you put students first and
those that put the extra timeand energy and care and love
into what they do to putstudents at the forefront of
this work valuable and on thetoughest days, on the most
challenging days, when youquestion yourself, always think
(33:48):
about what you're doing forstudents and putting students
first and keep that fire.
Keep that fire that got youstarted.
Remember your why and the firethat's burning within you is
definitely brighter than thefire that's burning around you
and I hope you know that youmatter and keep showing up for
kids and know that your impact,regardless of your role, will
(34:09):
last for generations.
Principal JL (34:12):
Boom, you just put it all in one nice package
there.
That was awesome.
That was a powerful statement.
I really loved everything aboutit there.
Now, Josh, this was a greatinterview.
I love having you on the show.
Of course, I'm going to putsome information about you down
in the show notes.
So if people want, need afinancial advisor, I'm going to
(34:34):
get you guys that information soyou can just link into it and
we'll get you connected withJosh on those things.
And so, Josh, it's been greatto have you.
Thank you for coming on theshow today.
Dr. Josh Wilken (34:45):
Thank you so much, Jeff.
I appreciate the opportunityand, if anyone has any questions
about the interview or aboutnext steps with Asset Strategies
, I look forward to hearing fromyou and look forward to the
conversations.
Principal JL (34:58):
You bet.
All right, Josh, that's it forthe day.
Dr. Josh Wilken (35:01):
All right, thank you, Jeff.
Have a good day.
Principal JL (35:04):
Wow, what a great conversation with my dear friend
, Dr Josh Wilken.
I hope you enjoyed theconversation as much as I did,
and if you enjoyed today'sepisode, don't forget to
subscribe and share this episodewith someone you know who would
get value from it.
And don't forget to leave areview Until next time.
(35:26):
Always be 1% better.
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.