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#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…

#10 Barbara Mullen I loved the opportunity to reconnect with Dr. Barbara Mullen. We’ve known each other since her time in Providence, and I have always respected the deep intentionality she has for the instructional core and her selection of professional learning partners. This was conversation #10 and it just so happened to coincide with…

#9 Andrea Castañeda Excited to feature Andrea Castañeda, Superintendent of the Salem-Keizer School District, in today’s installment of #100DistrictConversations. Andrea is not only a valued member of my Kinfolk 39 cohort at the Pahara Institute, but also a dear friend who I’m hoping returns to Rhode Island some day soon! For those familiar with Andrea,…