District Leader

The pandemic has presented schools with a variety of challenges, but thanks to adaptability, modern learning tools, and mature students, the Ephrata Area School District in Lancaster County Pennsylvania has risen to the challenge. Today, we speak with Dr. Brain Troop, who serves as a member of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators and is part of the EdLeader21 Network advisory committee. In this hopeful episode, we kick things off by taking a look at how Brian’s district has r...

Episode 40: Show NotesThe pandemic has shown that change is possible and that educators can serve high levels of instruction to students across a number of different modalities. As Dr. PJ Caposey explains in today’s episode, “your zip code shouldn’t determine the quality of your education.” An acclaimed keynote speaker and superintendent, today we speak with PJ about leadership, work-life balance, and how we can change our systems to offer a better education for all. After introducing PJ, we ...

Episode 39: Show Notes.As we consider the challenges of keeping our education systems up and running, we must also consider the opportunities that are becoming visible to us, including school and district cultures we are creating, the systems and structures we have put in place, and the transformative practices we have established. In the middle of this crisis, where is the silver lining? And how do we organize ourselves to benefit from it? Could this be the tipping point we have all be...

Episode 38: Show Notes.Despite the barrage of research advocating for change, our school system is largely the same as it has been for generations. For Brady Cook, Superintendent for the Michigan Center School District, the pandemic has a silver-lining — finally, teachers are being given the opportunity to change the system. Today, we speak to Brady about how his district has adapted to the pandemic and how we can turn the pandemic “into the biggest positive in the history of education.” ...

Episode 37: Show Notes. The pandemic has forced institutions across the board to change and adapt, and schools have moved at warped speed, into unknown territories, pushing harder and faster than many in and out the system thought was capable. Although the challenges that have come with this time have been undeniable, today’s guest, Dr. Yvonne Curtis believes the current moment also brings infinite opportunities for change and growth. In this episode, we learn more about her career, the ...

Episode 36: Show Notes.The pandemic has put enormous strain on schools and if there is one thing we can take away from it all, it is a reaffirmed belief in the value of education. My conversation today is with Dr. Paul Marietti, Superintendent of the Fowler Unified School District about how he and his community have taken up the many challenges posed by the COVID outbreak. Paul spent the bulk of his education career in Southern California as a teacher and site and central office leader before...

Episode 35: Show Notes In our conversation today, we will be discussing the question of staying focused on the right work and its role in disrupting the system in ways that responds to the inequities the pandemic has made more visible for all of us. Our guest today is Dr. Gustavo Balderas, Superintendent of the Edmonds School District in Edmonds, Washington. Dr. Balderas has been an educator for thirty years and has served as a teacher and school administrator. He has also served in mult...

When it comes to leading through an ongoing pandemic and amid the threat of multiple natural disasters, our guest today, Superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora, believes in having a well-thought-out plan and communicating it clearly to all parties. When drastic, unexpected things happen, the best thing district leaders can do is to formulate a plan and to outline each required step so that everyone is on the same page, even when things are adjusted last minute. And to do this well, Martha belie...

If leadership is challenging on a good day, the pandemic has plummeted almost every organization in the world into an impossible situation, requiring leaders and teams to shift gears overnight and come up with solutions to problems they have never had before. Our guest today, the Superintendent of Schools for the Batavia City School District, Anibal Soler, Jr., knows all about these unexpected responsibilities put on parents, teachers, and school leaders when the crisis hit the US in March 20...

My guest today is Socorro Shiels, Superintendent of the Sonoma Valley Unified School District. Socorro serves nearly 4000 students across five elementary schools, two middle schools, and both a comprehensive and continuation high school. She previously served as Superintendent of the Santa Rosa City School District, and as Director of Education for the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence. In my conversation with Socorro, we will be discussing race, equity, and social justice, ...