Posts by Throughline Learning

#36 Piper Bognar Conversation #36 with Piper Bognar, the Superintendent of Van Dyke Schools in Michigan covered a lot of ground. Superintendent Bognar is all about engaging partners and networking to build team and district capacity. When I asked about the educator role, she pointed to all of the additional highly-trained adults that her teachers…

#38 Candace Morell Conversation #38 digs into the power of teacher leaders as a scaling mechanism for strong professional learning. I really enjoyed hearing Candace Morell, Director of Teaching and Learning for Mansfield Public Schools in Connecticut talk about the nuance of marrying high-quality instructional materials with student-centered learning opportunities. She believes that students must…

#37 Michelle Miller There are so many incredible quotes, strategies, and nuggets of inspiration in this short #100DistrictConversations post from conversation #37 with Michelle Miller, Superintendent of South Fayette Township in Pennsylvania. This summary barely scratches the surface of the initiatives Michelle is building for students in her district, but you can watch this video…

#34 Michael Comella Conversation #34 was with a long-time partner in the work. I have know Michael Comella, the Assistant Superintendent for Chariho Regional School District, since he was a building principal working to bring new classroom models into Providence schools. Mike is as real as they get. He does the work without ego, focusing…

#33 Cory Steiner Conversation #33 with Cory Steiner, Superintendent of Northern Cass School District 97 was complete fire! Achieving a fully competency-based and personalized model at scale is impressive, and doing it with teachers in the driver seat makes it sticky – a fantastic strategy blending partner expertise with homegrown talent. “Our journey toward a…

#32 Jennifer Norman “Listening, observing, and collaborating are key elements in our professional development design.” This quote from Jennifer Norman, Executive Director of Pupil Services for Rocky River City Schools in Ohio encapsulates the innovative professional learning theory and design Jennifer shared with me during conversation #32. “Rethinking professional learning means ensuring it is accessible,…

#5 Julia Bamba Conversation #5 took place last week with Julia Bamba, of the Issaquah School District. Thank you to Superintendent, Heather Tow-Yick for making this fantastic connection. Our conversation seems timely after reading the new report on state level research and development (R&D) from Alliance for Learning Innovation (ALI), Education Reimagined, and Transcend. “Our…

#6 James Monti Posting conversation #6 today, which lasted more than an hour with my friend and former district leader, James Monti. Jim retired last spring after managing several curricular implementations over the past several years. “One of the biggest failures in education that we repeat again and again is trying to simplify extremely complex…

#7 Edda Carmadello Conversation #7 was in-person with my good friend, Edda Carmadello. I have known Edda for years as she’s worked across several Rhode Island districts. Edda works tirelessly to create a culture of continuous growth and improvement in her district. She’s deeply committed to her teachers feeling valued and excited about professional learning.…

#8 RoseMary Clairmont Conversation #8 with RoseMary Clairmont contains powerful lessons in process around embedding identities, home culture, and local values into professional learning for educators. RoseMary has built a sticky and sustainable process for engaging diverse sets of schools and educators in professional learning experiences that build more culturally relevant and engaging learning experiences…