Rooted Leadership in a Mobile World with Dr. Tyler Watkins – PMP516

A Quick Note to Listeners:

Before each week’s interview, Will Parker and Jen Schwanke spend some time answering a listener question. This week’s question is:

What advice would a teacher want to give to a new principal?

Listen in to hear their response!

Meet Tyler Watkins:

Tyler Watkins, Ed.D., is the principal of Petal High School, one of Mississippi’s top-rated high schools and a 2022 National Blue Ribbon School. He began his career in 2011 as a teacher and baseball coach before moving into school leadership.

His work centers on building belonging, creating predictable systems, and leading through stability. Dr. Watkins earned his doctorate in Educational Leadership from William Carey University, where his research focused on the academic effects of student transiency.

He lives in Petal, Mississippi, with his wife, Katie, and their children, Lowe and Cohen. He is the author of Rooted Leadership in a Mobile World: Belonging, Predictability, and Purpose When Students Come and Go, scheduled for release in Fall 2026.

Why This Work Matters:

Dr. Watkins’ passion for this topic didn’t begin with theory. It began with what he was seeing every day. Students were constantly entering and leaving his school, and even in a high performing system, each new student was starting over. That led him to ask a deeper question, what are we doing to make students feel rooted, even when their lives are not. In today’s landscape of school choice and increased mobility, this isn’t a niche issue. It is everywhere. Whether a school is high performing or struggling, students are navigating transitions, and schools must be ready to respond.

It’s Not Just Academic, It’s Human:

One of the biggest shifts Dr. Watkins describes is recognizing that student mobility is not just an academic issue, it is a human one. New students are not simply catching up on content. They are trying to understand new teachers, new systems, and new social environments, often while carrying emotional weight from their transitions. Too often, schools focus first on academics. But Dr. Watkins emphasizes that stability has to be intentionally designed, not assumed.