Many schools treat summer like the off-season. Parents don’t.

In this conversation, Dan Wyar (President of Rhodes Branding) and Ginny Kowalski (VP of Operations) share two very different enrollment journeys Ginny experienced as a parent this past summer. One school went quiet after enrollment. The other stayed connected with intentional touchpoints that built trust and confidence.

The lessons are clear: summer is a critical stage of the enrollment journey. Every message, or every silence, shapes how families feel about your school.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why silence creates friction for parents

• How consistent, intentional communication builds trust

• What K-12 schools can learn from higher ed’s “yield phase”

• Practical ways to engage families between enrollment and the first day of school

If you’re a district or school leader looking to improve enrollment and parent satisfaction, this conversation will help you see summer in a new light.

Career & Technical Education (CTE) is about providing hands-on, real-world learning opportunities to students as they explore their passions to find their purpose. The Rhodes Branding team was thrilled to do just that by partnering with the Association for Career & Technical Education (ACTE) to mentor high school students in San Antonio, Texas, on a hands-on video production project for ACTE’s Coalition for Workforce Development Summit.

Hear from two talented students how professional mentorship has helped shape their learning experience, the impact CTE has on their future goals, and what they’d tell their peers considering CTE.

Career & Technical Education (CTE) is transforming the future of education and workforce development. In this special CTE Month edition of Productive Disruption, host Dan Wyar sits down with three dynamic CTE leaders from across the country:

•  Chris Brida, Director of CTE & Advanced Coursework, Portland Public Schools (OR)
•  Leon Burgess, Director of Secondary Education, College & Career Readiness/CTE, Florence School District 3 (SC)
•  Melony Ritter, CTE Director, Cabarrus County Schools (NC)

Together, they discuss the power of business and industry partnerships in shaping student success, how to advocate for CTE from the district to state policy level, breaking the outdated “Vo-Tech” stereotype, and more!

In honor of Careers in Construction Month, we invited a Construction Technology Instructor and the Director of Career & Technical Education from Austin Independent School District to share how the construction pathway in the eighth-largest school district in Texas prepares students for successful careers in a lucrative industry. They cover how project-based courses through the pathway provide personal and professional growth and leadership opportunities for students, earned certifications position Austin ISD students ahead of their peers, and internships and mentorships convert to interviews and jobs.

Careers in Construction Month is an annual campaign by the National Center Construction Education and Research (NCCER) and the Build Your Future organization to increase public awareness of construction careers and inspire the next generation of craft professionals. To l learn more, visit https://www.byf.org/careers-in-construction-month/#.

Connect with Austin ISD’s Director of Career & Technical Education,Tammy Caesar, on LinkedIn and on Twitter (X) check out @caesar2656. Follow Austin ISD’s Career & Technical Education on Twitter (X) at @AISD_CTE.

On this episode of Productive Disruption, we sit down with Channing Jones of Minneapolis Public Schools and Dr. Shelley Neilsen Gatti from the University of St. Thomas to explore the MPS + St. Thomas Teacher Residency – an innovative partnership that’s cultivating homegrown talent, increasing diversity among educators, and creating a sustainable, supportive pathway to teaching. Discover how this residency model is breaking down barriers, filling the teacher pipeline with diverse and qualified educators, and strengthening the workforce in Minneapolis.  

Go behind the scenes of a successful, 10-school rebrand with Dothan City Schools and Rhodes Branding! Get the scoop on this district-agency partnership from Dothan’s Public Relations Officer Meagan Dorsey and our Creative Director Michael Ho. Learn what goes into the creation, launch, and community adoption of 10 new visual identities that align Dothan City Schools’ elementaries with the district-wide Wolfpack pride!

Show Notes:

Connect with Meagan Dorsey on LinkedIn , and on Twitter (X) check out @MeaganDorsey17. Dothan City Schools is on Facebook and Twitter (X) at @DCSdothan.

Discover how leaders can create a supportive and inclusive online school culture. Dive into the digital realm of education with Alicia Hughes, an expert in organizational leadership in the virtual space – having pioneered a virtual public charter school that continues to thrive on collaboration and relationships. In this episode, Alicia shares tried-and-true strategies for setting professional and academic expectations while fostering a strong sense of community and belonging among staff and students in a fully virtual environment.

Alicia is a virtual space expert, having over 14 years in the remote workspace and over a decade in virtual leadership. She is the former Executive Director of South Carolina Connections Academy, the largest public school in the state of SC, a soon-to-be author, and founder of Sparking Up Leadership Consulting – where she uses her experience to empower and inspire others seeking to lead in the virtual space.

Connect with Alicia Hughes on LinkedIn, and for information on Sparking Up Leadership Consulting, check out sparkingupleadership.com and "Sparking Up Leadership" on Facebook.

To explore ways K-12 Human Resources and district leaders can utilize AI to maximize efficiency in their districts, we’re talking with a superintendent from Ohio who’s well-versed and proactive in modeling effective usage of AI in his district. Kirk Koennecke, CEO/Superintendent of Indian Hill Exempted Village School District, shares how to empower and inspire administrators, teachers, and staff to experiment with and utilize new technology.

A veteran educational leader with 20 years of experience in administration and 29 years of service to students, Kirk Koennecke is in his fourth year as CEO/Superintendent at the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District. Named the National Association of School Superintendents (NASS) 2023 Superintendent of the Year, Mr. Koennecke is also a certified leadership and executive coach, has been a featured presenter nationally, and published numerous articles within education publications.

Learn more about the Schoolwide AI Roundtables Virtual Series through the Butler County Educational Service Center where Kirk Koennecke will be speaking next, AASA's STEM Leadership Consortium powered by JASON Learning referenced on this episode, and get to know Mr. Koennecke in his Superintendent’s Message.

Connect with Kirk Koennecke on LinkedIn, and on Twitter (X) check out @ihsuperbrave. Indian Hill Exempted Village School District is on Instagram at @indianhillschools and Twitter (X) at @IHSchools.

February is Career & Technical Education Month, and we’re celebrating and elevating CTE with nationally recognized leader Dr. Sarah Heath! Recipient of Advance CTE’s 2023 State CTE Distinguished Leadership Award, Sarah is the State Director for Career and Technical Education in Colorado and Associate Vice Chancellor for Career and Technical Education (CTE) at the Colorado Community College System (CCCS).

In her current position, she leads oversight of all secondary and postsecondary CTE programs in the state, which train more than 230,000 students every year in fields as diverse as healthcare, construction, and aviation. Sarah has dedicated her career to advancing CTE, first as a high school business and computer science teacher, then as a state program director and local system administrator. Improving and increasing opportunities for workforce education and preparation is her life’s passion; she served as the national president of the Association for Career and Technical Education and continues to advocate for CTE on a state, regional, and national level. In 2023, Sarah was named Equity Champion (CTE) by the Colorado Association for Career & Technical Administrators, a branch of the Colorado Association for Career and Technical Education. A proud \"Triple Dawg,\" Sarah has a bachelor’s, master's, and doctoral degree from the University of Georgia.

For the resources for local, state and national leaders Dr. Heath references on this episode, check out Advance CTE’s Learning That Works Resource Center. Learn more about Colorado’s CTE strategic plan, and the national CTE Without Limits: A Shared Vision for the Future of Career Technical Education.

Connect with Dr. Sarah Heath on LinkedIn, and on Twitter (X) check out @Sarahheathcte, @GoCCCS and @CTEWorks.

Superintendents set the stage for how values and vision drive district culture, making them key players in educator recruitment. To explore the superintendent’s role in educator recruitment and retention, we asked AASA’s 2023 National Superintendent of the Year® and leader of the No. 1 ranked district for "best places to teach" and "best teachers" in the Rochester, NY area what’s made his district so successful in attracting – and keeping – educators.

Dr. Kevin McGowan has been the Superintendent of the Brighton Central School District since 2009, is the President of the New York State Council of School Superintendents, and Past President of the Leadership for Educational Achievement Foundation (LEAF).

For more information on the topics Dr. McGowan references on this episode, check out Diversity and Equity at Brighton, and the district’s human resources page.

Connect with Dr. Kevin McGowan on LinkedIn, and on Twitter (X) check out @KCMcgowan. Brighton Central School District is on Facebook and Twitter (X) at @BrightonBelieve.