Hi, I'm Chanie.

I'm the founder and CEO of Schools of Excellence, where I've had the privilege of working with thousands of school leaders around the world.

But before any of that, I was in the classroom. Assistant teacher, teacher, assistant director, director, executive director. I worked my way through every role, and in each one I was obsessed with the same two things: clarity and relationships.

I come from seven generations of rabbis and Chassidic leaders, with eight brothers and sisters of my own. I was diagnosing problems and building systems before I had language for either one, making dinner for the family by nine years old.

I earned my Masters in Early Childhood Education and Special Education on nights and weekends, finishing ten days after giving birth to my third child, while running a household and building a business at the same time.

There was a season when my card was declined at the grocery store, seven months pregnant, after we'd maxed everything just trying to keep up. I sat in my car and knew I was playing the wrong moves off the wrong playbook.

That season is part of why I built Schools of Excellence the way I did.

Everyone was talking about curriculum, licensing, and enrollment. Nobody was talking about the humanity it takes to build a culture people actually want to stay in, or what it costs a leader to hold that alone.

In This Can't Be Normal, I'm not here with a pep talk or a motivational speech. I'm here to give you a map for leading through the quiet, chronic pressure you carry every day.

I'll give you anchors that hold when the pressure is heavy, and rhythms that pull you out of regularly scheduled chaos, even when it feels like you're running a school, a circus, and a small country all at once.

I didn't write this book just as a CEO. I wrote it as a wife, a mother of four, a former teacher, and a school leader.

I know what it feels like to carry everything, to keep hoping the next system will finally save you,
and to wonder if anyone really sees the weight you're holding.

I believe that excellence is about knowing who you are under pressure,
and choosing rhythms that bring you home to yourself again and again.

Learn more about working together

“I love how your writing tells a story and builds towards something—it keeps me wanting to read more. This resonated so deeply. I am that leader: depleted from all the pouring into others, carrying the invisible strain. Tell me more…”

charlie marcotty, school owner

“What really stood out to me was how conversational the chapter felt, it instantly turned into an internal monologue for me.. It was also extremely relatable, because it’s exactly what I’m going through right now...”

bri mccarty, school owner

“Honestly the entire chapter 1 was like taking pages straight out of my brain. I related to everything you spoke about, but I never expressed it out loud. It was like ahhhh someone understands what it’s like to be me!”

Donna Jensen, school owner

This CAn't Be Normal

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