Educational Leadership with Principal JL
Principal JL is an educational leader who explores various topics facing educational leaders today! The Mission of this podcast is to inform and inspire other Educational Leaders on how to be their best for their Schools by honing their skills and talents so they may impact their teachers, staff members, students, parents/guardians, and community members positively for their School District! Come with a Growth Mindset as we journey through Educational Leadership!
Educational Leadership with Principal JL
Episode 37: The Street Cred Principal: Josh Tovar’s No-Excuses Approach to School Leadership!
What does it take to transform a struggling school? Josh Tovar knows firsthand. Born in Juarez, Mexico, and growing up with learning disabilities and family challenges, Josh's journey from troubled teen to transformational principal offers powerful lessons for any educational leader.
Josh's personal story gives him authentic "street cred" with students facing similar struggles today. "I was a drunk in high school. I had no pathway," he shares candidly. This background allows him to connect with students in a way many educators cannot. After joining the Marines for structure and direction, Josh found his calling in education, though not by conventional means.
His leadership philosophy centers on a powerful principle: "connections before content." Josh explains that effective school leadership requires building genuine relationships while maintaining high expectations and consistent systems. Drawing from his military background, he implements clear structures that create safety and predictability, allowing learning to flourish.
The results speak for themselves. Josh transformed a 6A high school with persistent discipline problems and low achievement from a D-minus to a B-minus rating with distinctions in just three years. At his current school, Memorial Pathway Academy, he serves immigrant students and those at risk of dropping out – creating an environment with minimal discipline issues and high student engagement.
Perhaps most refreshing is Josh's honesty about the challenges of educational leadership. He discusses the political realities of being "blackballed" in a district, the mentors who championed his success despite obstacles, and the difficult balance between professional dedication and family responsibilities.
Whether you're a new administrator or a veteran principal, Josh's insights on creating systems, building relationships, and maintaining high expectations offer a blueprint for transformational leadership. Connect with him through the PGP Podcast or social media to continue learning from his journey.
Memorial Pathway Academy Garland, TX Link:
Email Principal Josh Tovar: ftovar@garlandisd.net
Follow Principal Josh Tovar on X: @MPA_GOJAGUARS
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I am very excited for today's guest, Josh Tovar. He is a passionate educational leader, proud US Marine veteran and an advocate for student-centered leadership. Born in Juarez, mexico, and raised in El Paso, texas, josh brings over three decades of experience across 13 educational institutions, from elementary schools to the university level institutions. From elementary schools to the university level. He is currently serving as the principal at Memorial Pathway Academy in Garland ISD in North Dallas, Texas. He is known for his unwavering belief in the power of relationships and his guided mantra connections before content, a dynamic presence on social media and the host of the PGP podcast. Josh champions professional growth and reminds us that podcasts are free PD. No excuses. Now let's get to some free PD with Josh Tovar. All right, welcome back to another episode of the Leadership Podcast. I am excited and I am thrilled to bring Josh Tovar in on the show. So, josh, welcome.
Josh Tovar:Thank you very much. My brother Appreciate you reaching out and connecting. You know what we're going to do this in a couple of weeks, so check his show out and then check out the PGP podcast. Hey, I'm a proud principal of Memorial Pathway Academy in Garland, ISD, Garland, usa, ready to rock and roll with this young man whose journey I just started. I think I'm on episode five of yours, no 10 of yours, and you know what I'm learning a lot Tom Osborne. Tom Osborne was also one of the guys that I'll appreciate, and that's the whole point about listening to podcasts. It's free, pd, but most importantly, it reminds us as leaders that we take knowledge from different people, different parts of the country, and ultimately make it a better version of ourselves so that our kids could prosper. So thank you for having me here on your show.
Principal JL:You bet Josh, wow, that's probably the best introduction of somebody coming in on the show. So I appreciate the shout outs and the listening and the engagement with the episodes, but you don't just listen to my podcast. Listen to other podcasts and we'll get into that later on in the show. But, josh, I'm going to go ahead and start you off with the same question. I start everybody off on this show what inspired you to become an educator?
Josh Tovar:My pathway was not, as we hear on, the traditional way of being a little kid wanting to teach. That was not at all. I was a very dysfunctional youth. I was not very scholarly, I was a big-time loser. I was a drunk in high school. I had no pathway. I was a child of divorce. I was part of the statistics of a low-income, minority male.
Josh Tovar:Child of divorce was not supposed to make it, let alone an immigrant. I am Virginia and Jesus' American dream, and so we came from another country and immigrated to the United States. But in the end you go through the trials and tribulations of life and you know this. In Nebraska, in Utah, in Miami, it doesn't matter where. Kids go through the same obstacles alcoholism, self-medication, divorce and it's what we do at the schoolhouse to ensure that we provide the proper opportunities. But I didn't have it. I'm back from the Mesozoic era period in the 1980s, and they didn't have SEL, they didn't have computers. We didn't have none of that nonsense. It was suck it up, buttercup, generation X, all in the house here and ultimately it was one of those things that I really had no way Now.
Josh Tovar:Prior to this, my brother had left the house Again, child of divorce, had no other way, got in conflict with my dad and he took off to the Marines. And so, very long story short, a lot of dynamics that happen obviously in families. We know that you go through that. In your chair, being the principal and as the assistant principals, you hear all of these stories of kids. And my brother took off and saw the world, but he was not very successful up to this day. I just couldn't speak facts to where he doesn't have a long standing career. And now he's getting close to the 60 mark.
Josh Tovar:And my mom knew that I was a loser, knew all the issues that I had, and so I decided, I took it upon myself to not go down the pathway of cocaine, heavier drugs. I was drinking maybe like four days a week. I live on the border town of El Paso and Juarez and all you needed was five to ten dollars to go get drink and drown. So you would drink like nine o'clock in the morning, ten o'clock, whatever it took you to get over there, you will get drunk and then you come back right before the bell rang and you will go home and it's one of those things. I'm not proud of it, but you know what? Those were the facts of life. And if you think that those kids that don't go to your high school in Nebraska or don't go to your high school in Utah, you think they're going home just to watch Maury Povich, they're not. They're self-medicating, they're doing a lot of those things like I did. It's life.
Josh Tovar:And so my mom she left us. My mom and the divorce said I don't want custody of my kids. So you know, there's a lot of trauma there, you know, when you find out these things down the road. And so I needed to go, and they didn't care back then about CCMR, they didn't care about total number of credits, they didn't care about none of this stuff. So they I graduated the bottom of my class barely with 0.5 credits over bottom two-thirds, and I needed to, you know, sharpen my future, and the only way was to the marines. You know that the marine corps has a proud tradition of success and I needed a quick kick in the ass. And so so, since I was 17, my mom said I'm not. There's a whole purpose behind the story, besides connecting with your, besides connecting with you, with your kids. It's the same story in 2025 as it was in 1988. And my mom says I'm not going to sign your, your, your paperwork unless you decide to go to school. And so the Marine recruiter you know recruiters, they just win their quota. And so he says, okay, you're still a quota, go to the reserve. And so that's where my mom agreed to, and I agreed to, go to the University of Texas at El Paso and go to boot camp, go to Fort Sill, oklahoma, to field artillery school. And from that point on I didn't know what I wanted.
Josh Tovar:Obviously, success breeds success, but I never had that. I was a loser in high school Academically. I still have learning disabilities. So, hey, senior teacher or freshman teacher in high school, I have three master's certifications and I still have problems reading. And I still have problems reading that silence for you to ponder what I just said. He'll tell you that we have principal meetings and they give us articles to read in jigsaw and then we're supposed to read those articles, right, like for five minutes. I'm always the last one. I still have a learning disability. You know it's hard for me to read, I still get distracted. And so if you expect your kid to be successful, you're talking to somebody that I feel is a successful principal and I still have reading problems. So don't say that the kid should already know it by now because they're a freshman or they're a senior.
Josh Tovar:No, a learning problem is a learning problem, whether it be self-imposed or you were just born with it, just like my glasses. I was born with that disability, whatever, and I'm just using that term as something that's not equal, all right, not as a crutch. And I didn't know what I wanted to do. And so my mom, what she would do was when we lived in Juarez, my mom received a scholarship from Lydia Patterson. That's why I'm a Methodist, because Lydia Patterson Institute gave her a Methodist organization, gave her a scholarship to go to UTEP. There's a lot of connections there, obviously and what she would do is that she would take us to the public library. What she did? She would go to jail nowadays, all right. She would leave us hours in the El Paso Public Library while she went to school, which was like around 25 minutes walking distance, and we would stay there hours upon hours.
Josh Tovar:And what I always gravitated to were biographies by Ronald Sim. I still remember it. I loved Conquistador biographies and I would read them and I would read them and I would love them. I would sit there. I knew I was in compliance because I didn't want my mom to hit me with her chancla, and so I would stay quiet. They would give me certificates with little 515, little, and it was a great experience. And so she goes. You like history, become a great experience, and so she goes. You like history, Become a history teacher.
Josh Tovar:So that was, I think, a seven-minute journey on how I became an educator. I did not want to be an educator, I disliked history. I used to say this as a middle school kid. Why do I need to know history? They're already dead. Go figure, I have a master's in history and the whole thing is I was never taught appropriately. What do I mean by that? I was never taught. I was always taught by that coach. It's still happening. Look at me, it's still happening. That coach just goes by his football plays and not by engaging the kids with ability to make history alive.
Josh Tovar:And if you do it in such a passionate way, people will love history. And so you know, along the way, I found that passion, I found that beauty of what history was, because then you start seeing it in today's TV, literally today's television. You start seeing the cycle of humanity and I was able to make a connection with the content to my kids. I'm there so they learn. I wasn't there for me to teach. Let me repeat that again I'm there for them to learn, not for me to teach.
Josh Tovar:So it was my job to engage him and make dead dudes look cool, and it's not easy, it's not easy. And so I've always had that love for history and I could tell you like right now, my six-year-old he just learned about George III, he just learned about CJ Thomas Jefferson writing that last-minute rough draft on July the 3rd and he had to turn it in for his group work. You see, if you connected with them, then they're going to get it and it's showing that passion, that love. So that was my pathway into education. I didn't want to be an educator. I never aspired to it. My dad was a businessman so I thought that was going to be my business route. But you know what God, life and my pathway took me to this beautiful profession, the profession that creates all the other professions education, you bet.
Principal JL:Hey, man, that's a lot of just great insight and background about you, josh, and there's some similarities I was kind of as you're telling your story. I can relate to a lot of that People. I don't really talk about this, but I grew up poor. Okay, I grew up on food stamps. My mom was the only income. My dad I'm sorry but he was a lazy bum. I'll put it out there he at least was there, but he was still a ghost father there. He at least was there, but he was still a ghost father is what we call him there but not really present.
Principal JL:Having people in your life to help you get to where you're at. I joined the military just so I could go to school. That's why I joined the military. So we kind of have that connection there having the military. I was in the reserves. Actually, I have been to El Paso. I have been to el paso. I've been to the white sand missile range. I did a lot of training down there, so I know the area. I you know so a lot of those things. When you're talking about juarez and el paso, I started remembering, oh, white sand missile range. We went there about every year. I've been deployed and you know, I was in the iraqi war of freedom, so my military background did help me with my ability and education leadership later, and I became a math teacher.
Principal JL:I was also a pd teacher. You became a history teacher. Those subjects are really tough to teach because you, like you said, you have to bring it alive, you have to make it connect with the kids. So when you're in the classroom you're teaching the kids history. What are some things that you learned as a history teacher that helped develop their leadership skills?
Josh Tovar:One thing is and I'm glad that you, and thank you for sharing with me and with the audience about your family, and that's what brings us street cred with kids, because they need to connect that you were a food stamp kid. They need to connect that I was a drunk, you know what, but that's not who we are now. That's not what, but you know what. It's what made us become successful. Air quotes what success is? Because everyone hey, a plumber. Right now, he's successful. Let your toilet back up, baby, you're going to pay $100, baby, hey, my lights go on. Right now I'm going to call that electrician and he's going to charge me whatever the heck he wants. That's success. And so for me, those stories and the engagement ties all back to who I was as a student. So you see, I was a knucklehead, right, I was self-medicating. I didn't care, I did enough just to get the D. I did enough just to get the D in high school. So I know that thought process, I know about being mediocre and living for the minimum standard, and so what that taught me was coming in as an educator was don't put up with nonsense. They need tough love. And I just recorded a video because I finally read all the cards. I started reading all the cards my kids wrote me for Principal's Day, for May the 1st, and a lot of them are like thank you for being tough. Thank you for being tough. It doesn't matter when, as long as you're structured and caring. Kids say they don't want discipline, but they love discipline, they yearn for it, they want it. They dislike wishy-washy roller coaster educators and administrators. They want you to be consistent with who you are as an individual, and that gives you street cred. And I learned one thing You're not going to mess with me. You're going to show up on time. You're going to do what you need to do. This is what is expected from you and this is what I require. And I will keep on giving it to you. And keep on giving it to you because there's certain things that I'm not good at. I'm not good at mitosis and meiosis. I'm not good at A squared plus B squared equals C squared. I can't get you through, I suck at that. But I need someone that will engage me so that I could find a connection for that.
Josh Tovar:So it was my job to make sure that I use my past experiences as a poor student, a poor scholar and make sure that I engage it along the way, always start implementing little things to tell the kid hey man, I don't know if you're going through crap at home, I don't know if you're going through divorce like I did. I don't know if you're self-medicating, but you know what? It's your birthday, and I started always honoring the kids on their birthday, always, and I can't tell you the countless numbers of times to tell me your pencil and your card was the only thing I received for a birthday Little things like that. And then I started putting kids' work on the wall. Kids' work this was back in the Paleozoic period, you know. You just start putting stuff up there, which is now. It's what is expected for quality and connections with kids.
Josh Tovar:And so what I learned was making sure that kids felt structure, kids felt appreciated and kids felt heard. Now I'm not going to do what you tell me to do. I got something to do and I'm still that way right now. I'm not going to put up with your nonsense, because you have a destiny, you have a purpose in life and it's my job to pull you, push you, love you along the way on that track, whatever it might be. So being consistent, being loving, is what built me up, because I never had that.
Josh Tovar:I needed to be the educator. I never got Back in my high school. There was never you know what. You would hear the announcements. You know this the student council hey, come to student council today. I'm like what the hell is that? I got to go get drunk. Oh, come. Hey, the pep rally for the game. Oh, senior sunrise, oh senior sunset. Oh, the thespians are performing.
Josh Tovar:I didn't know none of that. I didn't know the American factory style system Prom homecoming all of the guard, the little things that go around the garden Nothing, I didn't know, none of that. I would see it. I wouldn't ask questions because I needed to go self-medicate. So it's my job to always now say, hey, get involved with this, you might like this. I see that you wear this kind of shirt. How about you try this? Provide them with the opportunities that a high school has, that a middle school has, that a middle school has, that an elementary has, to make them feel part of what the air quotes school pride is, because all of us determine school pride at different levels, whether it be elementary, middle school and high school. So that's what it taught me to be engaging, loving and structured and making sure that I push those kids, whether they want to or not, to success.
Principal JL:Yeah, you say a lot of things in there that are impactful. I believe this If kids know that you care, they're going to learn, they're going to do the things you ask. Building those relationships when they know you care, because you take the time to get to know them, not just when they're in trouble but when you're just getting to know them on the daily. You know when they're in trouble, but when you know you're just getting to know them on the daily, like, hey, how's it going? You know, I like the fist bump kids in the hallways and you know, appreciate that they're there and say, hey, we want you to be here, we want you to be welcome to our school, because when I showed up at the current school I'm at, they didn't want to be there, so I had to go. Well, how can we help them understand we want them there, we care about them, because once they understand that you care, they're going to do what's needed.
Principal JL:And another thing that you pointed out kids will rise to the expectations that you set. So if you set a low bar, they're going to rise to that. If you set a high bar, they're going to rise to that. And the proof's in the pudding for me because I've elevated the bars over the last three years at my school and those kids and those staffers went in. I'm like, the more we raise this, the more they're going to get to that expectation. Because when I got here they're like, oh, we're just glad that they showed up. Well, I'm not okay with that. I want them to be here, but we need to push them to be the best that they can be. And so I feel, like a lot of those things that you just talked about, hopefully a lot of principals are understanding that's a great way to build that culture and build that inclusivity with the kids and build that relationship so they will do the things that you need them to do. Because, I'm pretty sure, because you build those relationships and you have that story, they can understand where you're from and, like you said, you built that street cred to where, when the tough things happen, they're going to respect what you tell them. Because you built that relationship.
Principal JL:And I'll tell you just even today there was a kid he's a duffel head love the kid. And a coach asked him. Even today there was a kid he's a duffelhead Love the kid. And a coach asked him hey, do you give Mr Linden a hard time, he's like no, I respect him too much. And I was like that was a moment where I was like wow, I mean this kid, you can be a kid, but because I've built up a relationship with them, he respects when I say this is the expectation, he just does it, and so I think that was a lot of good things. I think your military background kind of showed through there a little bit, because I have kind of the same philosophies and ideas as a leader. So how does the military kind of affect your leadership style or just your leadership in general?
Josh Tovar:as a principal.
Josh Tovar:I think it's crucial because, if you know, the Marines tear you down to build you back up and that's why it's an elite force across the world and it's about establishing structures and procedures, and you and I know this, and every single last principal across the United States or the world knows this If you don't have systems and procedures in place that are repetitive, then you're going to have chaos and anarchy, and I think that that's one of those crucial things that the Marine Corps did teach me about being consistent with your actions and making sure that you're a person of your word.
Josh Tovar:And when you're a person of your word and you establish this protocol, it doesn't matter who they understand what the expectation is and then how you're able to make them believe. What do I mean by that? Believe in the vision that you're bringing to the table. And it goes back to again the street cred, because then you know what you need to have street cred, because if you don't have street cred with the adults, they ain't going to be rowing with you forever, and so if you're not rowing together, then there's that chaos that I was talking about earlier.
Principal JL:Yeah, I really appreciate that. I mean, I could just tell your military background does influence, because it does influence me as well. I actually got to be non-commissioned officer in my eight years of preserves. You know, I don't know what did you? What was your MOS Field artillery I?
Josh Tovar:was a cannon cocker. We were not. We didn't face any kind of literally, I was at the end of my contract when the first Persian Gulf started and so we, the only thing that was that we mobilized. And you know that in the reserve rank, unless you're really active then the ranks go up, and so pretty much we were doing our monthly drill, our two weeks in the summer. But it still kept you fresh with the idea and the mentality of who you are as an individual. Because there I was, in the middle of 29 palms grading papers. There I was there. I don't people don't understand what the hell I just said, but yeah, it was weird, all right to be grading geography papers in the middle of 29 palms yeah, I actually finished my eight years in the reserve before finishing college.
Principal JL:Because I decided to take the tenure route, because I didn't, I did. I was not a non-traditional educator. I did not go into education out of the gate. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do. I thought I was going to be a physical therapist at one point, but I love what I do and I'm glad I found what I found as well. So let's talk about your teacher. You're teaching history. You're engaging kids. You've got history, fred. You got the street cred. You've learned some things. What was the deciding factor to go from teacher to administrator Can you talk about? You know what was the moment? What was you know? Were you tapped on the shoulder? Were you encouraged or you decided this was my next step? What was it that said, hey, I want to become an administrator?
Josh Tovar:My first principle. I was not satisfied with the condition and I don't try to be a prima donna or anything, but I knew that there was such a thing as free agency back in the Paleozoic era, because if you're a strong teacher, other principles, sometimes unethical principals will talk to you and will tell you hey, you want to come to my school. You want to because work gets out. You know, in districts works get out right. And so I decided to leave my first month. This is my 13th place in 32 years, 30, 13 organization. And so people, people want to say you're unstable? Yeah, I am, but you know what Craziness makes us propel sometimes. My next principal I was hired but he left. You know how that happens in summer he hired me in summer but then he left to another school. And the lady that took over, that's my guardian angel. I will always speak her name. And the lady that took over, that's my guardian angel. I will always speak her name. There's a handful of ladies that have made me who I am, and she was the very first one Millie Williams. Millie Williams, strong woman, strong African-American woman in my second middle school. Oh man, you name it that woman, woo, she was snapping left and right, that lady was a drill instructor. She had that school in Shveg, she had it out there. And then when she saw me, she didn't hire me. She didn't hire me, she inherited me. I was not her hire and you know that's kind of rough, being new to the school, and the previous dude hired somebody. You're like, uh, I don't know, that's my cup of tea. You know the game? Oh yeah, there's a game out there amongst administrators. And then she saw me in action and she was a proud graduate of soros state university and she said in middle school, if you know or you don't know, if you're a coach for one thing, you're a coach for every single last sport. If they have marbles, you're the coach for JV marbles. If you've got a hot jumpy rope, then you're the varsity jumpy rope, whatever it is. In middle school you do it all. And she said, coach, I need you to go to school and become an administrator. And I'm like, who's this lady? I was gonna be one of those guys that just dies being a history teacher because I loved it, right, and I dug some of the coaching stuff. But she goes no, you need to get enrolled. So you know what? What? I don't know her. She didn't hire me, we're just building a relationship back and forth. Then the next semester she goes to Alpine, texas that's where Sol Ross is and she brings me back a catalog and she says I told you you need to go. Here's the catalog. I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, yes, ma'am, yes, ma'am, yes, ma'am. You know, I love her leadership, I love that she called up people, both kids and adults. And then the next semester, which was the following year, she goes I ain't playing with you, you need to go to school. Well, I went to school.
Josh Tovar:She did everything possible to ensure that I went to school. She, she did everything possible to ensure that I went to school. She changed the master schedule for me twice. Let me repeat that again she changed the master schedule for me twice. She created a position for me to make sure that I was able to do my internship, my internship hours, and so she created in-school suspension. We never had it, we never had it, but she created it for me so that I could be also an you know, the administrative intern. Without that woman, I am not sitting here talking to you. Without that woman, millie williams, I am not sitting here. She kept pushing me, and pushing me and setting me up for success every single last possible way, and obviously you know what that's one of God's angels sending that purpose in my life. She did everything, like I stated, to make sure that I became an administrator.
Principal JL:Wow, that's a powerful story and you know, I'm really appreciative that she did push you and she did get you to where you are at today. I think as administrators we do have somebody that helps us see that path. Because even for myself, I was perfectly fine. I had a football coach and a math teacher. I had the dream job because I was half-time PE, half-time math and football coach. I was like this is great. But it was my wife's grandpa that sat me down, who was a former administrator. He's like you could do more, I like whenever you know, I was like I was like yeah, no way. But that sat with me and then years later I said you know what? I think he's right. And then I I went ahead and did that With getting into your principalship.
Principal JL:Talk about your first principalship you learned and just talk about your principalship journey up to being where you're at today in your current role. Just kind of talk about that process and kind of where you got. Like you said, you were in your 13th, 15th school. So there's a lot there that I don't know. Let's explore it a little bit. What are some lessons you learned along the way? And then you know what you're doing today at your current principal.
Josh Tovar:Well, that's a lot being being Fred Flintstone here, so we're going to cut out. I think that it's crucial that I address that. I was an assistant principal for 13 years. I was blackballed in my first district, never to become a principal. The politics you know this. You know there's politics. That's the way we got to read Glenn Robbins book. Won't Back Down. It talks about the dark side of politics and I was part of that. I was both on the good side of politics and I've been on the bad side of politics and for 13 years it got to a point to where I was told you're never going to be allowed to interview to become a principal, never Straight out, and I had too much time and that's why I tell people out there. Hey, if you're listening to this, you have to leave. If you know you're blackballed or you're not given the opportunity, you have to leave. Trust me, the grass, you make it green. Let me repeat that again you make the grass green on the other side. It's not always green on the other side. If you think it's going to be ready for you, you have to continue making it green.
Josh Tovar:And so one of my colleagues that worked with me in that district. She went up the ranks, we were peers and then she moved up and she became an area superintendent in the neighboring district. And again, this is my second angel, this is my second angel, carmen Croce. Without that woman I would have never been a principal. She saw that even though I was blackballed, I never gave up on kids. I never stopped busting my ass to make sure the kids were successful. She saw the work that I did as an assistant principal and then I was in charge of a medical magnet. And when you work with medical magnets, you see I was used to dealing with all the hardheaded kids, all the Joshes right. And then all of a sudden my principal says you know what? I need you to take over the medical magnet. And I'm like I can't deal with that kid. Those are the nerds. I don't know how to deal with those kids. There is a mentality. There is a total different mentality. No disrespect, I know it's the 21st century, you don't like to be called nerds. I apologize, but you know what I'm talking about. Yeah, and so the program was only breaking in like 100 kids and for the amount of money, with seven certifications, that was not good. You need to bring in more kids to that program because you're dropping tons of Carl Perkins money on there. And so he says I need you to go out there and take charge.
Josh Tovar:There were some issues going on with paperwork and MOUs and kids maintaining the standard and I went in, had to revamp the whole program. But then I started using social media. So what you see right now, those were the early stages of Josh on social media. So when I took over, with the help of the Bel Air staff and, most importantly, the Bel Air Highlander kids, we started recruiting literally all over the city of El Paso I will go to the border of New Mexico and try to recruit those kids and that enrollment went up from 100 kids to 165. I brought in extra 65 kids for two years.
Josh Tovar:You know how hard that is, but you know what I did was that I did the brain drain and all the high schools hated that. What I did was that I did the brain drain and all the high schools hated that, because all those smart kids that were eighth graders, that were to go up to their feeder pattern, I took them and so that angered them, and so when Ms Cross saw everything that was going on, she would see what I would be putting out on social media. She says hey, josh, I want you to come over to my alma mater and you need to interview, but right now there are two principals running it. The quietness is for effect. Two principals of a 6A high school with 2,550 kids. There's constant fights. There's a drug house right next to the parking lot. It is the lowest graduation rate. It is the worst letter grade high school in the district and I think you got what it takes to come and turn it around.
Josh Tovar:So I said, why not, let's go? So I went from a medical magnet kit with man. We just turned that program around. Kids were getting certifications from EdTech to Fluid Botany, to LDN. I mean it was beautiful. Then I go back to what I'm used to, you know, to the Joshes, and she allowed me to get my foot in the door. So I'm very appreciative of Millie Williams and Carmen Croce. I will always speak their name because through them they gave me the glory to pass on the big vision and at that campus where I became a principal for the first time I think that was 2016.
Josh Tovar:And we turned it around thanks to the hard work of our team members, every single less the custodians, the cafeteria workers, security, our team%, lower socioeconomic, all poor, all Hispanic, an area where it's not supposed to be successful. In three years, those hardworking teachers raised it from a D minus to a B minus. Let me repeat that again 2,550 kids went from a D that was the lowest, full of fights, full of weed, full of low attendance to a B with distinctions. It went from an 88% graduation rate when our administration walked in to a 92% when I left, when COVID hit. That was done in three years and it could be done as long as you always accentuate the positive, that you care about kids and they know that you're caring about them and, most importantly, that you establish structures and protocols that everyone follows and you hold everyone responsible, starting with me, starting with the main chair, because if the main chair is not role modeling, the expectation, then it will never happen, because people will call you out, people will say that you're a phony baloney and they will not follow your vision. And so that's where I became the principal. And then you know what I think. You understand this, and a lot of the people that hear my next conversation. There's something about sitting in the main chair that really creates divorce. It creates problems in your house your personal house is a principal. It creates friction with your significant other, with your wife, whatever it might be, because you're at your events and not at your family's events.
Josh Tovar:I was raising other people's kids and ignoring my kids. I would be going to bi-district area regional quarterfinals. I would be gone every weekend, because the only way you turn around a school is by always being everywhere. My job was seven days a week. I will be putting 15, 16 hours per day because you need to be seen visible in the classroom, in the hallway, in the lunchroom, at the softball game, at the orchestra, at the flags, at the underwater basket weaving, whatever it might be, you need to be there. And so, again, god send me another angel. And they said there's a school here in North Dallas and we think you're going to be the right fit for it. It's a school with immigrants. Hey, that's me. I have to learn English, I'm an immigrant, and it's kids that will drop out, it's kids that would fail in high school. Hey, that's me. There are no UIL activities, there is no accountability and whenever you're done, you're done. So now, overall, I went from being in a school 24-7, coming to North Dallas, to a school where I'm home by 5 o'clock every day raising my kids. I've not missed anything. More often than not now I'm here with my kids, whatever their celebrations are, whatever it might be, as compared to before they were.
Josh Tovar:Third, I am ashamed of saying that it does bother me that my wife had to hold the house down. It does bother me. You know much respect to her for doing that, for having that ability to maintain the household, because I would have to put both my health, the school and then my family in that order, because if I'm not on tip-top shape then the school is not going to be running. And my focus was that, marine Corps, stick to your protocols, stick to what you have to do. So I got tired pretty much of not being with mine and I had recently had a brand new baby, and that's when COVID happened. And so I know disrespect to anybody out there at all. You know much love to you. I'm not saying it happened, not happened. No one talks about COVID anymore. No one talks about whatever happened back then. But for our family, for the Tawars, it was a great time Because when the shutdown happened I was running the school from El Paso in Dallas.
Josh Tovar:I was in El Paso but running a school in Dallas from El Paso, and my family and I, we bonded. I raised my baby. I raised my baby, I saw my baby, I smelled him, he pooped on me, all that stuff that goes with being. We would do family walks, we would do all that. So COVID pretty much brought us together because we were never really a unit. And so now I'm here at Memorial Pathway Academy in Garland, the Garland, usa, and it's a magical place.
Josh Tovar:And again, coming here, there were so many things that needed rewiring. There were so many changes and expectations because, like I mentioned, they would send kids to Memorial Pathway Academy. Just get them out of here, just graduate them. The lowest expectation Academy. They would just get them out of here, just graduate them. The lowest expectation was 22 credits, just get them out. You know they never go to school. They're here to sell drugs, they're here to ditch whatever. Just graduate them. And then the newcomers just teach them whatever you know, just you know. Try to get some English in there, I go. That's not fair, I wouldn't like that. That's not what I expect. And so up until this last year we've turned, you know, our team members in the classroom, our secretary, our paraprofessionals. Obviously, I've gone from a little city that I ran every day, close to 3,000 people, down to 450. Not that much, just a little enclave as compared to what that is. But it's turned around. Kids are graduate. There are more kids now graduating on the actual graduation advance plan like everybody else. They're all graduating with ccmr. Our eb students are leaving our home practicing, practicing speaking English and they're prepared for their comprehensive schools.
Josh Tovar:Last year we just did the data and I'll share this because I don't think a lot of people at my school listen, because it's part of my PD. All last year I think we maxed out at 472 kids and we have sixth grade to seniors. I've got 10-year-olds to 20-year-olds in one building, I've got them separated by three hallways and with all those things we had a total of 60 referrals in the whole year. Six zero 60. And they were mainly for cell phone and just falling asleep in class.
Josh Tovar:Wouldn't you like to have that as an issue? Wouldn't you like to have that? I had no fights. I had some shoving by 6th graders. You know how that goes. You know how 6th graders are. I had no major fights. I had no girl fights. I had some vapes. We averaged out .34 referrals per day 0.34. What is that? It's a joke. There were weeks that kids would. We would have weeks that not one hallway would send a referral. So it's all based on those procedures and they're all based on love and caring, making sure that the kid feels connected with the educator, making sure that the kid feels connected with the building and making sure that the parents, when they drop off their child, they know that they're being loved.
Principal JL:I think you've covered a lot of things. It's really interesting kind of how you had people in your life that kind of put you in a position to show you know what I can do this, and then you know what I can do this, and then you know what you are doing. A really good job. Let's try you at this. And then you succeeded. And I think you bring something up that we all go through as administrators, where there we do put our families, you know, behind our career A lot of the times, especially when you get new to it and you feel like you've got to do everything, but then you get like I'm eight years in as a principal, I'm going into my. I'm just finished my seventh year as a principal, going into my 19th year overall.
Principal JL:In education I've had to learn you know what. There's times where, hey, my job comes, that's what I'll do, but then I have to learn to shut that off. And when I'm with my family, I'm there. I think the best advice I've ever had was be present where your feet are at. So if you're at your school doing your job, you're doing it to the best of your ability. You're at home with your family. You're being with your family to the best of your ability.
Principal JL:I think we all struggle with that as administrators because even when, when you're like for me and you as a high school principal, you feel like, oh my gosh, you know for me to turn this around or to get where I want it to go, I got to do this, I got to do that, and then you just overdo it and you can't keep up on it. So I really appreciate how you share that struggle, because we all we all go through it. It all takes us time to figure out how to manage that, so our families don't feel neglected when you're in this role as well.
Josh Tovar:And let me just say this and I know you've heard some of my podcasts and I'm very honest and everything If you want to do an effective job, I can tell you there is no such thing as life-work balance. If you choose to interview for a school that's a D or an F, you better make sure you talk to your partner first. Make sure you tell them hey, I'm going to interview and it's a tough school and I won't be here for a lot of days. I'm not going to be here for birthdays. You better have that conversation before you go to the interview, because if you don't have that conversation, that's going to create the divorce, because in the end, if you suck as a principal and they're hiring you to go fix a not good school and you're not good, then that means your career just went down the toilet. You'll be blackballed and you'll never get another chance as an administrator. You know what I'm talking about. They'll put you back in the classroom.
Josh Tovar:There's a lot of incidents out there that principals become classroom teachers again, and so it's very important that you know what you're getting yourself into. I'm sorry, I hear it. I don't agree. I, josh, josh, everyone is going to agree with it. Everyone is going to agree with it. But there is no such thing as life to work balance. If you want to raise a low performing environment, you have to really put in the time for that to happen. And then what sucks about it and I think you know this what sucks about it is that once you make it high, the hard part is keeping it at that level.
Josh Tovar:So people would say, oh, I'm walking into a B, I'm walking into an A campus. Oh, baby, you better have better walked into a D. Because the thing is, if the guy before you left a B and you drop it to a C or you drop it to a D, uh-uh, baby, that's you. If you walked into an A and it goes to a B, woo, oh, but I have life work balance. Oh, no, I turn off my cell phone on Saturdays. Oh, I don't send emails, I don't read emails. Fine, but for a reaction there is an equal reaction. Yeah, you just understand that if it's a needy school, you're going to need the leader and you always need to role model the expectation.
Principal JL:No, and I think I agree with that. I think you, as a leader, got to role model the expectations you have, because if you don't like you said, they'll call you out and they ain't going to follow, or they're not going to follow, a leader that isn't going to hold themselves to the expectation you're asking them to do. And I always tell my staff I'm never going to ask you to do anything that I haven't done or I won't be willing to do myself, and so I will never ask more than I would ever do for myself. So I think that's important for leaders to know out. There is don't ask more of people that you wouldn't do yourself. So if you do that, I think you're in a good place.
Principal JL:I think we talk about work-life balance. The reality is, if you are being the best person who are at the place that you are. So if you're being dad, be the best dad you can be at that time. If you're being a husband, be the best husband at that time, or wife or, you know, grandparent or whatever. If, then, when you're in the principal role, you're being the best principal while you're at that job, because you're never going to be able to make it 50 50. It's not going to happen. There's times of the year where you're just going, going, going and the school leaders that roll, and then there's times like, hey, I was able to take, you know, some time off and I was able to spend it with my family and do those things and you know you have to learn like, okay, this is when I am present in here and so I think, being the best, you can be where your feet are at, I think is the best advice that I could give somebody in this role, because you're never going to be, you know, 50, 50 on anything, ever, probably more like six. If you get the 75, 25, you're doing all right, you know. But at the same time, you know I really appreciate just your journey and everything that you've done.
Principal JL:What is the biggest lesson you've learned as an administrator that you could help other administrators thinking about getting into this role? What is something that you say? I think you've talked about a lot of it, but maybe kind of. You know you talk about culture. You talk about, you know, discipline. You talk about expectations. Culture you talk about, you know discipline. You talk about expectations, what and systems. What is something that you said? You know? This is probably it's all important, but I think is really important, if you're coming in to be in a principal, that you need to know about being a principal A few things.
Josh Tovar:Number one when your team members get dressed in the morning, eat breakfast and they're walking to their car and they have their keys in the ignition, do they say I got to go to work or do they say, all right, I'm going to work? Are you setting up a good environment for those people going to work? Are you setting up a good environment for those people when your kids, your students, your scholars go to your campus? Do they feel safe? Would you want your kid, you your DNA? Principal, assistant principal, would you want your kid in every teacher's class? Let me repeat that again have you created something in your campus that you could put your own DNA in every teacher's class? What you do to celebrate kids, would you like it? As a dad, as a mom, do you even do anything to celebrate the child and not make it only about the learning? What is going out there? What is your vision? Your vision has to cover your babies, your scholars, their parents, so that they leave you alone, and your team members, so that they leave you alone and your team members. If your vision encompasses all of those three parts, then you'll be okay.
Josh Tovar:If you're able to go to a conference and not get a phone call, you're doing good. If you're able to go to central office to a training and never get a call from security, from an AP, from a teacher, you're doing good. If you're worried about something happening at your school, you're not doing good. You don't have systems in place that will give you peace of mind. Let me tell you, when I go to conferences, like I went to during school time I think I went to North Carolina Middle School Conference, which I suggest everyone go this year I didn't worry about it. I didn't worry about it at all. When I take off to take my kids now I get to take my kids to doctor's appointments I call in sick and I take my babies. No one calls me because there's procedures, systems in place. And if someone calls me from the school, it better be Hiroshima. And let me tell you, knock on fake wood, I've established enough wherever I'm at, where I don't get calls at all whatsoever.
Josh Tovar:So, educator out there that wants to sit in the chair, does your vision cover 360, those three groups? Do they want to be at your school? Would you have your kids at that school and do you honor and celebrate everybody to where they feel comfortable? Now, don't get me wrong. You're always going to have hurt people, hurt people, hurt people and it doesn't matter. You can never make everyone happy. I've learned that in so many schools. Do you know who the weebies are?
Principal JL:Have you heard of the weebies? The weebies. Explain the weebies. The weebies.
Josh Tovar:Guys, there's a group and Coach Hurt Coach Hurt, who's part of the Fantastic Four, which is part of our podcast system, he calls them Mr and Mrs Potato Plant. I call them the weebies. Those are those ankle biters that every school has, and you know what they say we be here before you, we be here after you. We ain't going to do what you say. So everyone has those weebies.
Josh Tovar:Don't worry about the weebies, don't worry about Mr or Mrs Potato Plant. Worry about honoring your scholars and making sure that you're that light that they need, that you're that lighthouse that inspires them. You're that person, that individual, that vision that makes sure that they'll walk on fire for you. And if you do that, then you know what? In 15 years, when you're at Subway and you've got shades on and you have no makeup and you stink, one of your scholars is going to go up to you and they're going to say hey, tobar, is that you? Tobar? You have a cap on, you're not dressed normally. And I say, yeah, tobar, because of you, you changed my life. That school changed my life. That school changed my life. Thank you, drop mic. You've made a difference.
Principal JL:And I think those are the moments we live for as educators, right, where you don't get those things in the moment. Those things come year down the road. I've had students that I've coached or I've taught as well as being a person. I've had people write me letters, shoot me a quick DM on Facebook just saying, hey, because of your leadership or what you've done, thank you, this is where I'm at today and because of these things. So those are the most rewarding parts about this. These are things you don't get in the moment, but they're things that you get 5, 10, 15, 20 in your case, 33 years down the road. You're going to get those, those moments where someone's going to tell you hey, I appreciate the things you've done because it helped me get to where I'm at today, and so I think those are very impactful things to understand as well, maybe when you're in the job and you're thinking, oh my gosh, am I making a difference? Like you said, if you have systems in place and you have the right people, you put a great teacher in front of those students and you help them be great, and those students and you're impacting students everywhere you go, it's going to matter and you just won't know it until later. I think that's a great way to kind of make some great advice for people out there thinking about the chair. So we talked about the fantastic floor.
Principal JL:You talked about the podcasting. You are a fellow podcaster as well. It's called the PGP Podcast. Now, for those that don't know, what does PGP mean?
Josh Tovar:PGP Podcast Puras Ganas Podcast. Puras Ganas. You know what? There are not a lot of Hispanic podcasts out there that are education-based. You know that. Trust me, I look for them. I have yet to find one.
Josh Tovar:If you're an educator, I don't mean to do tribes at all, I don't. I don't mean to separate because I see everything. You know that I watch they lead me a podcast. But you know what? There's a certain niche and certain conversations that you do have with Hispanic kids. You know that. Oh yeah, you know that you work with those kids in Nebraska. You know what I'm talking about.
Josh Tovar:There's a certain kind of dialogue, a certain kind of verbal connection. We talk about papusas or enchiladas, or the chancla or the fly swatter or whatever it is, or the chancla or the fly swatter or whatever it is. There's certain connections that you make as educators that bring that inspiration of being that loving person that is the provider of knowledge for kids, and so it's a term that we always use as Hispanics and that's where we got the name from. Puras ganas is a term, phrase used by Hispanics all over the Western Hemisphere, and we're part of a group of four podcasters, so the very first one is Coach Hurt. These are all Facebook Live, coach Hurt.
Josh Tovar:If you need help with data, that guy, he talks it. I understand it, but he talks it like he talks good, you know how. There's Texas laws and then there's federal laws and Texas do their own nonsense and those darn red states right. And then there's federal guidelines If you need help on how to break down your data and your core tiles and your sim tiles and the oop tiles, whatever it is, core service were man. Then after that, at 10 30, you've got chica and tammy, the doctors, and what they do is that they talk about how to turn around a school. Those two ladies were about to get fired. They were told pick up the school or you're out. So they they created a framework, the real framework. What is the real framework? You got to find out. Tune in at 1030 and they will educate you on how to create those steps and those protocols.
Josh Tovar:Our third program is El Jefe, principal Baruti. Kafele, principal Kafele. If I need to say anything about that, then you've been under a rock, but you've got to listen to him at 1055. Those are the three programs and we're the anchor. We're the anchor on Sundays at 4 pm Central, but once football starts. We're going to move it up to 5 pm Because I know football is king across the United States. So we're all the same but we're totally different. We all love kids, we all inspire adults or look to inspire them, but we all have a different niche. We all do Our show. Platforms are totally different but the same. I don't know if that makes sense, but that's what bonds us together. We are a group of educators that provide you with Free PD.
Principal JL:Free PD. And let's talk about that Free PD because, josh, you listen to multiple podcasts and I know, as a podcaster, when you have people out there promoting your podcast, it means a lot and I appreciate the listening and doing that. But you listen to multiple. I mean, if it's an education, you're listening to it, you're doing reviews, you're sharing it out and, to be honest, I have actually followed you on Facebook and LinkedIn and so I see your post and I go, hey, that sounds like an interesting podcast. I'm going to go check that out for myself.
Principal JL:And you always talk about, you know, free PD, no excuses. What inspired you to do that? What is the reasoning behind? You know, in my, in my, my sense, you're lifting up other educators and helping you know with their networking abilities, because, I will tell you, people are downloading my show even more since you've done that and I see the effects of it just in my downloads. But what has caused you? What inspires you to do that? Because I know it's appreciated, I love them and I love the reviews that you put out for people's episodes. Well, thank you.
Josh Tovar:That's very kind. You know what. I truly believe that iron sharpens iron, and there's a certain thing that happens to educators, to administrators after 30 years, a lot of them think that they know it all or they're already tapped out. And I cannot do that. I can't become stagnant water. That would be such a failure or lack of respect for the people that believed in me. I could never become that individual that says I'm at the end, I don't care, I can't. I could, I've established a good pattern, I've established success. But you know what? That's cheating my current kid, and I refuse to do that Because a lot of people cheated me when I was going up, and so I like listening to educators. I need to learn what's going on.
Josh Tovar:The person that started all this and he'll be on the show is Fonz, my EdTech Life. So it all started with Corona. We all started podcasting. Everyone started podcasting, and you had nothing to do but was to walk, do take-in, deliver at your house and listen to shows, watch TV. And I listened to Fonz and I'm like, oh, this is pretty cool, this is pretty cool, all right, all right. And so then just started listening, but I wouldn't repost or anything like that. So much, much respect, much love to Fonz, who was the first person to get me hooked into this.
Josh Tovar:Obviously, there's a lot of national podcasters out there that connect with you, but in regards to the field of education, he was the one. Then one day there was Chris Sarcheski and Dean Packard. They started a podcast for educators. It was called Unlock the Middle and they would call me every once in a while to be part of their panel to talk. One day he just said hey, you're a turnaround principal. You want to be on the show. I'm like you know, you get this when you call people for the first time. They're like me. Why would you want to meet? And I thought nothing of it. And from that moment on, for like around, I think, two years, I was an unlock the middle with him and your question to me was well, why do you share it and review it? Because I thought we did tons of great shows with them, but I wouldn't get any. We wouldn't get. You know, we don't get feedback sometimes and we want to know. I didn't hear you on your show say hey, you like this? Let me know. Hey, guys, when we ask you as podcasters, it's not about ego or vanity, we just know that Coach Hurd says are we talking good? Are you getting anything out of this? Are you becoming a better version of yourself with listening to these words? And so I said you know what? Obviously, as I said earlier, I need to role model the expectations, right? So again, I got to practice what I preach.
Josh Tovar:So at that moment I started hearing podcasts, I started doing, you know, just a little picture of what I was seeing, and just heard the show, listen to it, but that's so on a scale of one to five. That's so nonsense, right. So then how can I engage people? That's what we tell our kids to do when they write prompts, right. What can we tell to engage the reader? And so then I started doing that, doing a summary of what I heard and just posting it out there. And then, when you hear that, then you start seeing other podcasters appear on your feed, right. And if you see the same guest and you follow them somewhere else, oh, I like what they said, let me hear them again with this other person. Are they faking the funk? Are they putting on the show or is it really them? And then you review it. And so then I just got into that, but then that also became a great pattern for me, again, part of my life, and I'm sure that you know this.
Josh Tovar:I wake up early in the morning, at 3.30 every morning, to go to the gym. So I'm at the gym by 4.15. And along the way, while I'm drinking my supplements, while I'm driving to the gym, while I'm out there, it allows me to focus on what my vision is and being prepared for the first when I go to school. So I put those reviews out there. Number one for the hard work. Hey, everybody out there, everybody that does a podcast. It is very time consuming. We're not getting any financial. We're not getting Joe Rogan money. We're not getting Bill Maher money. None of us are getting any money. We're not getting Bill Maher money. None of us are getting any money. All I'm letting you know is that we do it because we want our beautiful profession to become the best version of itself, especially with the exodus that's going on. We have so many administrators coming up that shouldn't be administrators, but because so many are leaving, we have so many outstarts out there that we don't have the money either to send people to training or the time. So these are the great things that we need to use.
Josh Tovar:So if you listen to a podcast, just like it and share it Like this one, it's not out of vanity and it's not about being jealous of somebody else. It's nothing it's about. Did we learn from each other? Did we do a good job that can help another person? So I think that the best thing that I could do to help your podcast, to help fons, is barbara bray, I mean, you know, the lini goes on.
Josh Tovar:Tony katani, I listen, I listen. I think I think I'm at 18 right now that I alternate there and pepper. I mean I listen to that and then what am I in the mood for? And then I just review it. So I listen to it. I try to listen to three every day, unless they're one hour, like dave bridges. Podcasts are an hour. That takes up most of my workout time. But I learned a lot from dave bridges. So you put those things out there and if I got something out of it and I'm an old fart oil, I'm a dinosaur Then maybe you, of course, your principal. I can guarantee you you could get something out of that. That's right.
Principal JL:But I appreciate it. You said a lot of really great things there. I think the free PD is like if you even listen to my intro I talk about this is professional development. My goal for the podcast is to give something to other administrators to help them. That's the heart, that's the mission. I bring on guests to go.
Principal JL:Hey, what can we learn from this guest? How can we connect ourselves? Because, as principals, this could be a lonely job. You could be isolated. Yeah, you may have assistant principals, but when you're at the top, you're the building principal and you are in charge of that building. It's not the assistant principal that's going to get in trouble, it's you. You got to be the one that has to. You know your foot is going to be held to the fire, so you have to make sure that you're doing the best you can. Going to be held to the fire, so you have to make sure that you're doing the best you can do. It Do right by your assistant principals, everybody that you are working with and collaborating with, and so that's why I do it. It took me a while to really be consistent with it, and that's something that I've gotten way better at.
Principal JL:But you know what I wouldn't be here talking to Josh Tabar without this podcast. I wouldn't be learning from him today and his journey in education, and I wouldn't learn from Darren Pepper and I wouldn't learn from Tony Catani. These are people that I have listened to as well, as you know putting out a content for other people. It's not about me. I really care less about myself. I care about helping others that are in this seat because there's I think we're getting more of it and it's really great to see. But when I started podcasting there wasn't a lot out there, and so I think it's grown over the last three, four years and I think it's great, and it's great way to stay connected.
Principal JL:When you are in the seat at your school and you could be that small rural school like I was there's not a lot of networking you can do out in a foreign field of a school. You know you've got to have some way to get connected and network with other educators and you have to be able to do it on a daily. That's where podcasts, I think, are a really great tool to do that. So thank you, josh, for that. And so, man, this has been a great conversation. Time has flown by. I've learned so much from you, and just your path, your journey, where you're at. So you know, Josh, what are you up to today? People want to reach out and get connected with you. How can they reach out? I'll put your information in the show notes for that. And what is the best advice you could give educational leaders before we end the show today?
Josh Tovar:Reach out, steal everything that I put out on social media. Take it, make it yours. If you need me to help you with some logos or some stuff, I'll show you what apps I use. I've been doing culture stuff already all summer. I've been sending out stuff to kids, to teachers. I've been doing all that out there Because I rather spend time front load Love. So when you come in, you already know that the Linus Blanket is waiting for you. So reach out to me Whatever you need.
Josh Tovar:You want to be a guest on the PGP podcast? Come on over. I'm already booking for September. Come on over, tell me what you do. We'll find a niche, we'll put you in there. But, most importantly, if you want to visit our home, come on over. If you're in Texas, hey, you want to come over from Nebraska? Come on over. You know what we have.
Josh Tovar:10 districts visit us last year, 10. They left awestruck on the pedagogy that's implemented at Memorial Pathway Academy for kids from Pakistan, from Africa, from Vietnam, from all Central South America, to those kids that are teen parents, those kids that are 19 with three credits. That's who is MPA. And I know you, you educator. I know you have that and you know what this is where magic is made. The true Disneyland is no longer in Florida and California, it is at MPA. So come on over, copy the stuff that we have and visit us.
Josh Tovar:You open door. I don't put a dog and pony show on. You know, you've been to those schools where you visit that same classroom. Uh-huh, come on, I don't. I just set up a structure and say what do you want to see? And we're just going to walk in. I never tell anybody other than the clerks we might have guests tomorrow. That way some strangers come in. You know we got to do the background check and the whole ID stuff, but other than that I don't tell anybody. I say, hey, they might be on conference. We're just going to walk into the classroom and I want you to see this and see this and make sure you check for their exit tickets. Everyone, wherever you walk in, they see that the kids are engaged, they see that there's no cell phones out, they see that there's bell-to-bell instruction. So if you want to see that you have an open invitation to come to Memorial Pathway Academy and if you want to know a little bit of our story, I wrote about it in Barbara Bray's book Grow your why?
Josh Tovar:Chapter 23,. I am the last chapter. They save the best for last baby. That's MPA. If you want to find out how you turn a school from a D to a B if you want to turn around a school like MPA, this is where you find out about it. I wrote about it. Reach out, I'm here for you. Iron sharpens iron.
Principal JL:Hey, I appreciate you being on the show today, josh. I appreciate all the insights you have and the work you're doing and how you're impacting education in a positive light. Thank you for being on the show today, gracias. What a great episode with Josh Tovar. Josh shared his powerful journey with personal insights on how he got into education, his time in the US Marine Corps to leading schools with heart, purpose and relentless focus on relationships. His message is a reminder that leadership is about connection, being authentic and service to others. If you're not already following Josh, be sure to check out the PGP podcast and follow his work on social media. His energy is contagious and his insights are invaluable. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with others who need to hear it. Until next time, be 1% better.
