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 from a recent…

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 have as “layers”…

Coming in at conversation #35, Michael Sollitto, is the Superintendent of the Burrillville School District in Rhode Island. It was great to catch up and learn how Mike is making professional learning work through strategic fundraising and regional collaboration. “We want to provide every student the best possible education, preparing them for whatever comes next…

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 on how his…

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 competency-based, personalized learning…

“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, impactful, and truly…

Conversation #31 with Patrick Gittisriboongul, Assistant Superintendent of Technology & Innovation for Lynwood Unified School District was fascinating from an AI integration and innovation standpoint. Patrick is part of The AI School Teams Collaborative with The Learning Accelerator and Leading Educators. Thank you Jin-Soo Huh for making the connection! I love Patrick’s “why” behind this…

My conversation with Tamara Allen-Thomas, Superintendent of Clairton City School District outside of Pittsburgh, PA marks conversation #30! Today we explore a data-driven social emotional learning initiative focused on key indicators of student success. “Our commitment to Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is a core priority in our district’s comprehensive plan. Following Maslow’s hierarchy of needs,…

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Greg Wyman, Superintendent of J.O. Combs Unified School District during conversation #29. Greg is no stranger to sharing his unique and thoughtful perspective with a broad audience. His Substack contains a wealth of insightful writing, and dives even deeper into some of the important themes that we touched upon during our…

Conversation #28 explores a district strategy for leveraging foundation relationships to fund partnerships with innovative professional learning organizations. Julie Moore is an energized and thoughtful district leader who has launched incredible programming with funding from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and others. As Assistant Superintendent of Innovation & Learning at Liberty Public Schools, outside of…