Hi, I’m Jodie Villemaire!

And like most principals, I walked into my first principalship thinking I was ready. I had experience. I wanted to improve outcomes for kids. I had leadership training. I cared deeply about instruction and believed in teachers.

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But I can still remember standing in my office during those first few weeks… looking around the room… and thinking:

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What is the actual work of this job?

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No one had really prepared me for it.

Yes, I had mentors assigned.
Yes, I had district meetings.

But when the doors closed and the real decisions landed on my desk, I was largely figuring it out on my own.

And like most principals, I did what high-achieving, responsible leaders do:

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I took on too much.
Too fast.
With almost no boundaries.

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The job consumed my thoughts during dinner.
It followed me to my kids’ events.
It sat heavy in my chest at 10:00 p.m.
It became my identity.

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And here’s what no one tells you:

You can care deeply about instruction and still spend most of your time putting out fires.

Discipline issues.
Angry parents.
Staff conflict.
Compliance deadlines.
Urgent emails.

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Meanwhile, the instructional leadership work (the work that actually moves a campus forward) keeps getting squeezed to the margins.

It took me years (and I mean years!) of reading, studying effective leaders, seeking additional training, watching what the strongest principals did differently, and making plenty of mistakes before I began to understand:

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Not all work belongs to the principal.
Not every fire deserves your oxygen.
And instructional leadership must be protected, or it disappears.

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I slowly built better boundaries.
I learned what only I could do...and what had to be delegated.
I created systems instead of reacting emotionally to every problem.
I stopped trying to be the fixer and started building leadership capacity in others.

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And here’s a vulnerable share:

It took me nearly a decade to really figure it out.

By the time I had clarity, confidence, and systems that worked… I was closer to retirement than to my first principalship. 

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That realization stayed with me.

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Because I know how many talented, mission-driven principals are still overwhelmed, exhausted, deeply committed to kids, but unsure how to lead learning and survive the job.

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After more than 30 years in public education, serving as an elementary and middle school principal and later as Director of Learning & Teaching, I now coach principals to figure these things out much sooner than I did.

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So they can:

• Improve outcomes for students

• Grow the capacity of their teachers

• Build consistent systems for instruction

• And still have a life outside of school

 

Because research consistently shows that schools improve when strong principals stay.

And principals only stay when the work becomes sustainable.

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The Principal Leadership Lab is the support space I wish I had during those first ten years.

It brings together:

• The systems I refined as a campus leader

• The instructional frameworks that actually transfer to classrooms

• Practical, ready-to-use tools

• Ongoing coaching

• And a community of principals who understand the weight of this role

 

This isn’t about adding more to your plate.

It’s about leading learning more intentionally…
Building capacity instead of carrying everything yourself…
And creating a version of this job that allows you to succeed, and still enjoy your life.

If you’re ready to lead with greater clarity, confidence, and sustainability, I’d be honored to support you inside the Principal Leadership Lab.

Jodie