Managing a school budget is one of the most important jobs a superintendent does. Dr. Bill Phillips, a retired superintendent who now serves as IASA field services director, is an expert in the area. In this episode, Phillips discusses ways school districts can save money, strategies for crafting a budget and details how important it is to understand the ins and outs of school finance. The IASA Podcast is sponsored by American Fidelity. Consider American Fidelity for a different opinion on employer benefit solutions for education.

IASA associate director/legal counsel Sara Boucek discusses how implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act is going in Illinois and details what superintendents need to know about new school designations being rolled out as part of the law. This podcast is sponsored by American Fidelity. Consider American Fidelity for a different opinion on employer benefit solutions for education.

The Illinois Association of School Administrators will be hosting a New Superintendents Conference August 1-2 in Springfield. Dr. Rich Voltz of IASA talks about what attendees can expect to learn at the conference and how they can build a support network for their first year on the job.

Round Lake Area Schools CUSD #116 was among 10 school districts in Illinois chosen last year to participate in ISBE's competency-based learning pilot. Dr. Donn Mendoza, deputy superintendent, discusses how the effort is going and what it took for his school district to implement the change.

Dr. Heidi Podjasek, director of professional development at Oswego Community Unit School District 308, discusses why and how her district switched to a trauma-informed care approach to better understand student behavior and help students stay on track.

School safety security expert, Ken Trump, joins IASA podcast to discuss ways school superintendents can keep their buildings safer. Trump encourages superintendents to focus most on peoples and procedures rather than products and hardware.

Former IASA Communications Director Mike Chamness, who is now chairman of the Illinois Terrorism Task Force, discusses the 13 recommendations the School Safety Working Group sent to the governor. Among ideas is to expand uses of countywide sales tax and more information sharing between schools and law enforcement.

In this episode, Township High School District 214 Superintendent David Schuler discusses how his district is addressing the teacher shortage problem by growing their own educators. Over three years, the initiative has placed just over 300 students in the teacher pipeline.

Lemont School District 113A Superintendent Dr. Courtney Orzel discusses why she wanted to become a superintendent, why more women are entering administration, finding a balance between work and home life and how her district crawled out of financial ruin.

IASA Executive Director Dr. Brent Clark discusses why it was important two bills on administrative caps and debt structuring were defeated, as well concerns IASA has with the so-called "shared superintendent" bill. Also, Clark discusses the budget, pension shift and more.