In this episode of Alpaca’s “Little Wins,” host Karen Borchert sits down with Lindsay Pietrzak, an inspiring educator who’s taken an unconventional leap in her career. After more than 20years in education, including 12 years as a principal and administrator, Lindsay is returning to her roots in the classroom. At a time when most see leadership as an upward climb, Lindsay is redefining what it means to lead by choosing to work side by side with students once again.

We’ll dive into what drew her back to teaching, the emotions and challenges behind leaving a tight-knit school community, and how she’s bringing hard-won expertise and a fresh perspective to her new role. Lindsay opens up about building strong home-to-school partnerships, fostering true team culture among educators, and finding, and celebrating the “little wins” that make a big difference each day. 

Whether it’s dance buttons in the classroom or candid reflections on change, Lindsay’s story is a testament to the power of authentic connection, collective leadership, and a deep belief in the potential of every student and educator.

💡 Little Wins in This Episode:

1. Reframing Control: Lindsay shared how years in administration taught her that “you can only control what’s in your classroom”, a realization she’s bringing back to her work as a teacher.

2. Smart Goals for Real Connection: In her first year as an elementary principal, Lindsay set a goal to meet 95% of families. She ended up meeting 98%, front-loading relationships that paid off in trust and collaboration.

3. Celebrating with a Dance Button: One of Lindsay’s favorite moments was watching students hit a classroom “dance button” to celebrate their math goals, joyful, student-centered proof of progress.

4. Owning the Narrative: She challenges the fear that celebrating wins makes you a target if something later goes wrong. “People don’t want to fail,” she says. “But we have to tell a different story.”

5. Letting Go of “But”: Lindsay encourages teachers to reframe team conversations by eliminating the word “but”, and instead focus on what’s possible, not just what’s hard.

Key Moments

05:09 Bittersweet Departure from Resilient Community

06:44 Connecting with Families Initiative

11:46 “Focus on What You Can”

15:00 Collaborative Teaching: Avoiding Hero Complex

17:57 Building High-Functioning Educational Teams

20:47 Celebrating Student Achievement Milestones

23:24 Curriculum Co-Creation Challenges

26:57 “New Principal Sparks Excitement”

30:44 “Recognize Humanity in Education”

34:07 Celebrating Education’s Successes

36:32 “Embracing Honest Data Conversations”

39:58 “Second Graders Interview Principal”

Connect with Lindsay Pietrzak

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsay-pietrzak/
Website: https://www.cusd201.org/ 

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Karen’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenborchert

Alpaca LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/get-alpaca

Alpaca Website: https://www.getalpaca.com/
Alpaca Resources Library: https://www.getalpaca.com/resources-library 

🧵 About the Podcast:
Little Wins is the podcast that digs into the small, deliberate actions school leaders are taking to build strong, human-centered cultures.
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