Debbie Critchfield joins SchoolCEO and shares her experience in school communications and her current role as the Superintendent of Public Instruction in Idaho. 

If you’re an avid listener, you know that SchoolCEO so often goes deep into organizational culture and how you can craft effective communication that reaches your intended audience. This episode combines those two topics as we dive deeper into internal communication and explore:

• Internal communication
• Tactics and strategies for better internal communication
• How to work better with school boards and external partners
• What superintendents can craft a better working relationship with their communication directors
• How communication directors should spend their time to become even more effective in their work
• And so much more. 

Debbie Critchfield was sworn in as Idaho’s Superintendent of Public Instruction on January 2, 2023. She previously served for seven years on the Idaho State Board of Education and was appointed to education task forces by Governors Brad Little and Butch Otter. Debbie served as an elected school board member in Cassia County for ten years and was on the executive committee of the Idaho School Boards Association. She is a former local library trustee and Oakley Valley Arts Council president. She worked as the public information officer for Cassia School District for nine years. Debbie and her husband Dave live in Oakley, where they raised their four children. They have three grandsons.

Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. 

Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at [email protected].

Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform.

In this episode of SchoolCEO Conversations, we speak with Scott Curran, an expert in impact storytelling. He discusses what impact storytelling is, how it can engage and inspire staff, bring communities together, and help nonprofits and schools alike achieve their missions. Listeners will learn practical frameworks for crafting stories and be inspired to craft their own stories.

Join this conversation to learn more about:

• The power of storytelling to shape community and culture
• Defining "impact storytelling" and how it differs from typical  storytelling
• Overcoming common hesitations in identifying impact stories
• Using the "GPS framework" (Goal, Problem, Solution) to craft impact stories
• Understanding benefits of impact storytelling: achieving "big, bold goals," navigating change and rallying to overcome challenges
• Telling impact stories as a leadership practice - lessons from working with presidents

Scott counsels leaders of social enterprises in developing social impact strategies, growing organizational capacity, and creating projects, programs, and partnerships that achieve measurable results.

Scott founded Beyond Advisers to work with social innovators, nonprofits, philanthropists, governments, and private sector leaders to design and build their organizations and initiatives for impact. He teaches and lectures on the role of lawyers in social innovation, advises law schools in developing social impact clinical practices, and consults with law firms to develop social impact practice groups. Crain’s Chicago Business called the class he teaches one of “the coolest classes for law students.”

Prior to starting Beyond Advisers, Scott served as General Counsel for the Clinton Foundation. During a decade of service to the Clinton Foundation, Scott established, grew, and led the legal team that supported a global operating charity with over 2,000 staff and volunteers working in 36 countries on more than a dozen initiatives. Scott led the team of in-house professionals and outside firms that created the organizational and operational structures that supported the Clinton Foundation’s board, enterprise systems, and program teams during their most prolonged and intensive period of growth.

Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. 

Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at [email protected].

Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform.

Tom Burton has been an educator for 35 years including as a superintendent and associate superintendent for a total of 8 years at Princeton City Schools in Ohio. In July 2023, he retired and shared his insights and expertise with SchoolCEO.  Follow him on X/Twitter at @TBurton_Empower

In addition to this episode, you can watch Tom Burton’s TEDx talks. Watch “Sometimes the Apple Bounces” about breaking the cycle of poverty and “Finding Resolutions: Questions the Answers” about developing the mindset to confront ourselves and make progress.

- Leaders need to challenge the status quo and get comfortable with dissent and disagreement to spark new thinking. Ask "why" repeatedly to dig deeper.

- Model the behaviors and mindsets you want to see. Consistency between beliefs and actions builds culture. 

- Stay positive and solution-focused. Don't let setbacks derail you. Reflect but don't dwell on mistakes.

- Implement programs and changes systematically. Evaluate frequently and course correct.

- Collaboration and transparency lead to better ideas and outcomes. Value all voices.

- Gratitude and recognition motivate teams. Look for authentic ways to say thanks.

Want more from SchoolCEO? Subscribe for free to our newsletter! We’ll send you ideas to get you thinking, resources you can use within your schools, and share original research that is published exclusively in SchoolCEO magazine.

Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. 

Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at [email protected].

Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform.

One of the most explored topics at SchoolCEO magazine in our research, interviews, and perspectives is employee culture. Our original research on teacher satisfaction (February 2023) looked at 1,000s of teachers from more than 300 districts to find out what they want in a job, how they find opportunities, and more. And in 2019, we published the largest study of its kind on millennial teacher recruitment and retention in schools. 
In this podcast, we speak to Great Place to Work CEO Michael C. Bush. Great Place to Work leads worldwide in employee satisfaction surveys and helping leaders improve the employee experience and workplace environment. Join this conversation and gain a new understanding about creating the best work environment for teachers and staff:
- A great place to work is defined by a high level of trust, respect, transparency, fairness, equity, and caring about one another. 
- It is a place where people feel like they can work well as a team and achieve more together than individually. 
- Pride in a great place to work is defined as care, where people feel cared about by those around them, and they reciprocate that care. 
- Trust is the most crucial factor in creating a great place to work. 
- Fairness is the key lever that impacts trust the most. 
- Working for a leader who treats everyone with equal disrespect is better than a leader who treats different groups unfairly and unequally.
- And so much, more... 

About Michael C. Bush:

Michael C. Bush is CEO of Great Place To Work, the global research and analytics firm that produces the annual Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list, the World’s Best Workplaces list, the 100 Best Workplaces for Women list, and dozens of other distinguished workplace rankings around the world. Driven by a love of business and an unwavering commitment to fair and equitable treatment, Michael joined Great Place To Work as CEO in 2015, bringing 30 years of experience leading and growing organizations. This includes serving as CEO of Tetra Tech Communications, which he grew from $40 million to $300 million in revenue. Michael is a former member of President Obama’s White House Business Council and a founding board member of the private equity seed-fund, Fund Good Jobs, which invests in small inner-city businesses. Michael was a member of the Board of Directors at Workday, Inc. until September 2021 when Great Place To Work was acquired by UKG, Inc.

Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. 

Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at [email protected].

Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform.

Neal Foard has spent 25 years in advertising and marketing, creating award winning campaigns for global power brands like Budweiser, Lexus and Sony. Most recently, Neal has gained a following on social media for his inspirational videos about the better side of everyday people.

You can find more of his stories on:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/nealfoard
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nealfoard/
Website: https://www.nealfoard.com/

For his work on Toyota, Neal ranked among the top ten most awarded creative directors in the world in 2002. As the author of an innovative coaching series, Neal was named Worldwide Director of Creative Learning for global ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi. He has consulted on creative messaging for Fortune 500 companies and universities and been a featured speaker at TEDx conferences. 

Subscribe to SchoolCEO Newsletter at https://www.schoolceo.com/subscribe-now/ for more strategies on leadership, influence, and storytelling. 

Learn more about Apptegy and how Thrillshare can help you tell better stories across your website, social media, and beyond at https://www.apptegy.com/thrillshare/

Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. 

Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at [email protected].

Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform.

Dr. Melissa Thompson explores how she built an onboarding program for school board members that prepares potential board members to serve. Her work and onboarding system also gives board members-elect the information, context, and tools necessary to start their positions well. In this practical episode, superintendents and school board presidents will learn how to truly develop their board members to benefit their entire school community.

Dr. Melissa Thompson is the former superintendent of Swallow School District in Wisconsin where she served for 12 years. Dr. Melissa Thompson now serves as the Director of Education Strategy at PRA (Plunkett Raysich Architects) following 25 years in the field of education.

A twelve-year veteran of the superintendency, during Dr. Thompson’s tenure at the Swallow School District accolades from the Wisconsin Department of Instruction included being the Top Scoring District on state report cards (2020-21), the top score in the state for eight-grade mathematics achievement (2018-19), and being one of eight schools statewide to earn recognition as both a High Progress and High Achieving Title I School (2014-15) along with School Health and three Promising Practices Character Education awards.  The district was also named a National Blue Ribbon School in the Closing the Gaps category (2016) by the U.S. Department of Education. 

During this same period, significant Long Range Planning efforts coupling Strategic Planning and Master Planning efforts lead to the passage of an $8.3M referendum in 2018 with all project facets completed on time and under budget. Communications campaigns and community engagement during the pre-referendum and design processes earned state and national recognition with ongoing School Board workshops and community engagement around the district’s finances and nexus with school funding in Wisconsin. 

Dr. Thompson is a frequent presenter at conferences, facilitator of strategic planning efforts for school districts and organizations, mentor to aspiring and new administrators, search consultant for districts seeking new superintendents, and member and past President of the Hartland-Lake Country Rotary Club where she was also named Rotarian of the Year.

Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. 

Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at [email protected].

Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform.

Join SchoolCEO Conversations in an interview with Dale Scott on practical advice and smart thinking about how to set up your next bond to succeed.  

Dale Scott is the President of DS&C in San Francisco, which has provided municipal advisory and election consulting services for California schools and community colleges for over 35 years. Consistently ranking among the top municipal advisors in California, Dale and his team have helped hundreds of school districts address their funding challenges.

Dale is widely viewed within the bond industry as one of its most innovative thinkers. In partnership with Jefferson Union High School District (San Mateo County), he created the nation’s first voter-approved general obligation bond to construct below-market rental housing for teachers and staff in the district. This unique approach went on to receive Bond Buyer’s Small-Issuer Deal of the Year award in 2018. Dale and his team have also received Inc. Magazine’s Best in Business award, given to companies that have had a “superlative impact on their industries, their communities, the environment, and society as a whole.” In 2022, Inc. Magazine also named DS&C one of the 5000 fastest-growing private businesses in the United States. Dale holds two patents from the United States Patent and Trademarks Office for debt financing mechanisms. He is the author of Win-Win: An Insider’s Guide to School Bonds. He has appeared before numerous taxpayer organizations and statewide school district symposiums as a frequent guest speaker on school district finance and elections. Dale holds degrees from San Francisco State University and Harvard University.

Learn more about Dale Scott & Co. here.

Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. 

Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at [email protected].

Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform.

Visit EduOpenings.com to post jobs within your schools and/or find new opportunities for yourself and others.

SchoolCEO speaks with two educators from St. Louis who founded the website EduOpenings.com. The platform helps districts find and attract educators to their schools AND makes it easier for those same educators to find new opportunities within K-12.

Dr. Howard Fields is an Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources in St. Louis County. He’s also an award-winning leader, author, creator, and adjunct professor. Follow Dr. Fields on Twitter at @HeFields3

Dr. Darryl Diggs Jr. is an educator and advocate for diversity and inclusion in education with over 15 years of experience. In his current role as Director of Equity, Dr. Diggs oversees the district’s DEI initiatives, which include professional development for staff, training for students, and support for all St. Louis County school districts. Follow Dr. Diggs on Twitter at @Achievement4ALL

Learn more about SchoolCEO's resources and research on recruitment & retention here. SchoolCEO Conference also dives deep into employee culture and reaching teachers and staff of all generations. Learn more about SchoolCEO Conference here.

Chapter Markers: 
(0:00) Opening Quote

(1:08) Episode Intro

(3:20) Dr. Howard Fields Intro

(4:30) Dr. Darryl Diggs Intro

(6:10) About EduOpenings

(9:25) Creating A Better Job Search

(11:30) The Role of A.I. & Analytics

(13:40) Teachers & Private Sector Jobs

(16:15) Diversity & Recruitment

(16:55) Research Into Teacher Recruitment

(18:50) Pivotal Career Moments

(25:25) Word Of Mouth  

(31:00) Creating Better Job Descriptions

(37:00) Active Recruiting

(44:00) Recruiting Is Competitive

(47:30) How You Can Use EduOpenings

(50:49) Outro & Credits

Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. 

Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at [email protected].

Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform.

Have you ever noticed a gap between what people say they will do and what they actually do after you talk to them? How do you know if you’re sharing stories people will remember and act on? Are all stories memorable and actionable?

As a superintendent, principal, or communications director you want to be both memorable and credible. To become true leaders and influence others’ actions, you must ask: What makes a story memorable? And what is the optimal amount of narrative to use when you speak about technical and complex content? 

Dr. Carmen Simon, Ph.D., is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, cognitive neuroscientist, and renowned keynote speaker for sales and marketing audiences. Carmen offers a groundbreaking approach to creating memorable messages that are easy to process, hard to forget, and impossible to ignore―using the latest in brain science. Dr. Simon is the author of Impossible to Ignore: Creating Memorable Content to Influence Decisions.

You can find Dr. Simon on Twitter at @areyoumemorable and read her book on Amazon or at Bookshop.org

Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. 

Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at [email protected].

Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform.

In this conversation Aurora Meyer at Columbia Public Schools in Missouri explains and explores a different approach to their district communications including rethinking the role of social media, the value of print communication, and promoting the very best of your schools with the larger community. We discuss the importance of establishing a connection over specific data and metrics. 

Aurora Meyer is the President of the Mid-Missouri PRSA chapter, APR Chair for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) St. Louis Chapter and previously served as the Mid-State Director for the Missouri School Public Relations Association. She currently serves as the Communications Manager for Columbia Public Schools.

Over her 19-year career, Aurora has developed an impressive track record of increasing both the size and engagement of relevant audiences and campaign outcomes by using analytics to guide strategic decision-making. She is recognized by her industry peers with multiple awards for social media strategy and campaigns in addition to a MarCom Gold award in 2019 and several National School Public Relations Association awards for her work in 2020 and 2021.

Aurora is a regular speaker and workshop presenter on campaign analysis, social strategy, community engagement, crisis communication and analytics. A PRSA-accredited public relations professional, Aurora is entitled to use the APR professional designation.

Follow Aurora Meyer on Twitter at @aurorameyer

Subscribe to SchoolCEO Newsletter at https://www.schoolceo.com/subscribe-now/ for more strategies on communication, newsletters, and more.

The article Where Social Media Falls Short from the Summer 2022 edition of SchoolCEO pairs nicely with this episode. Read it and more here.

Follow SchoolCEO on Twitter @school_CEO

Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. 

Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at [email protected].

Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform.