Conversation #26 with Sean McKenna, Superintendent of Griswold Public Schools was fast paced and highly energetic. I love when leaders get so excited by the work that my typing fingers can't keep up. Sean believes in the power of leaders at the district and building levels co-designing professional learning in teams to build buy-in and alignment. Across my  #100DistrictConversations, I'm seeing these types of leadership approaches standing out as common themes in high-functioning districts.

"'Instruction Matters Here' is a key message for our district. We are committed to equitable opportunities for all students, ensuring our design, delivery, and assessment practices reflect that. We have spent considerable time working on equitable response strategies, aiming to level the playing field for students. We are exploring how to refine our understanding of student engagement, moving beyond surface-level observations. We are looking into developing a tool to analyze student and teacher body language, aiming to truly understand what engagement looks like when it’s going well.

Our Griswold Forward Plan, A Compass to Provide Direction, emphasizes social emotional learning (SEL) programs, incorporating behavior-specific praise and discrete, targeted tasks. We have developed a walkthrough tool for administrators, focusing on visible learning targets shared with students. We're mindful of the 'seesaw effect' – focusing too much on one goal to the detriment of another – and we’re working to balance SEL supports and academic rigor at the same time.

This year, our focus has been on having leaders visit classrooms in person with much more frequency – not to evaluate, but to learn and support. We have implemented short-course instructional rounds, spending mornings immersed in the learning environment, observing, and offering resources.

We have structured our professional learning to be collaborative and responsive. Our Teaching, Learning, and Innovation (TLI) team, with directors of digital learning and diverse learners, works alongside building administrators. We have a TLI huddle where we co-create and co-design professional learning topics. For example, when addressing a vertical math team's needs, the TLI leaders collaborate with building leads to tailor the approach. This ensures that professional learning is not a top-down mandate, but a partnership.

Regarding AI, we have a future-focused vanguard group, including administrators and early adopter teachers, exploring AI's potential. We have found Dan Fitzpatrick's book Infinite Education insightful. We have also been working with SchoolAI, ensuring we have clearances for student usage and internal mechanisms to address algorithmic bias. We are in the tinkering phase, and we have held some community sessions about the use of AI. We’re working on teacher protocols and guidance in the classroom. We’re excited about Ethan Mollick's work and the concept of treating AI as a 'side-by-side buddy.' "