Ben Jones knew he was going to be a principal when he was in 3rd grade. His entire school career, while a bit tumultuous at times, gave him experiences that helped him become an impassioned educator.  After graduating from the University of Georgia in December of 2002, he began teaching at Carson Middle School in Greene County, GA.    After getting married in 2004, Ben and his wife moved to Forsyth County, GA where Ben began teaching at Liberty Middle School. In 2010, Ben became the Graduation Coach at LMS where he supported students, parents, and teachers. In 2012, he had the privilege of being named one of the Assistant Principals at SilverCity ES. 4 years later, he was named AP at South Forsyth Middle School. In 2019, he was named the Principal at Shiloh Point ES where he proudly remains today.   Ben is a faithful Christ follower, loves to read, watch movies with his family, and eat Twizzlers. He is also a member of the Guiding Principals Mastermind that meets on Wednesday nights!    Show Highlights   Created your “core team” to connect and move your school forward.  Be the chief repeating officer for showing and connecting the vision of your school.  Use the “Constellation Mindset” for that interdependence piece for your leadership team.  The playbook for leaders to create agreements connected to your vision for essential conversations with your community.  “Teaching sprints” will transform the classroom and impact students.  Dial in your staff. Hear how 99% of Ben’s decisions are not made in isolation.  Invested in your continuous growth, challenge the status quo and design the future of school. The importance of passing the leadership baton.    “‘I don't affect anybody else. I don't have any power over anything. My actions don't matter.’ That couldn't be farther from the truth. We're all connected in some way to our kids, our staff, our community. Every choice we make, every time we show love and kindness, every time we show respect, every time we're selfless, every time we serve, it means something.” -Ben Jones Get the episode transcript here!! Ben’s Resources & Contact Info: Twitter Shiloh Point Elementary Read my latest book! Learn why the ABCs of powerful professional development™ work – Grow your skills by integrating more Authenticity, Belonging, and Challenge into your life and leadership.   Read Mastermind: Unlocking Talent Within Every School Leader today! Apply to the Mastermind The mastermind is changing the landscape of professional development for school leaders.    100% of our members agree that the mastermind is the #1 way they grow their leadership skills.   Apply to the mastermind today!   SHOW SPONSORS: HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION Transform how you lead to become a resilient and empowered change agent with Harvard’s online Certificate in School Management and Leadership. Grow your professional network with a global cohort of fellow school leaders as you collaborate in case studies bridging the fields of education and business. Apply today at http://hgse.me/leader.   TEACHFX With TeachFX, teachers are creating classrooms that are alive with conversation. Our app gives teachers insights into high-leverage practices like: How much student talk happened? Which questions got students talking? It’s eye-opening for teachers, and scales the impact of coaches and principals. Start your free pilot at teachfx.com/blbs.     ORGANIZED BINDER Why do students struggle? I'd argue that they lack access to quality instruction, but think about it. That's totally out of their control. What if there was something we could teach kids there was something within their control that would help them be successful in every class? It's not a magic pill or a figment of your imagination.    When students internalize Executive Functioning Skills they succeed.  Check out the new self-paced online course brought to you by OB that shows teachers how to equip their students with executive functioning