I know you've been wondering to yourself, "Has he finished his #100DistrictConversations yet?"

Yes! After a quiet summer the final five conversations are teed up and coming your way soon!

Today I'm posting conversation #96 with Heather Perry(opens in new tab), long-time superintendent of the Gorham School District(opens in new tab) in Maine. Heather's inclusive leadership process is worth a much deeper dive. So grateful to Paulina Murton(opens in new tab) for the connection!

"I've been superintendent here for 12 years, and I'm proud that our mission and vision have stayed true the entire time. Stability happens because we've built a system where every layer of work connects back to those core documents.

Underneath the mission, vision, and strategic plan, each school develops a Comprehensive Education Plan, built by school leaders and teacher leaders, and always aligned to the district's direction. Importantly, schools have the autonomy to choose their specific priorities for that year.

The cycle starts with a district-wide data retreat held every other year. I bring teacher leaders together for a full day (with a stipend) and our district leadership team (DLT) walks through all of our data: achievement, attendance, behavior, special education, broken out by subgroups. In alternating years, the DLT meets independently to review data.

Take Great Falls Elementary as an example. This year they're focused on engaging, high-quality instruction, broken down into focus points for students, adults, and culture. A core objective is students building confidence as independent learners. Activities include developing goal-setting practices and incorporating more authentic tasks and student choice.

Our professional learning structure is intentional and varied. We have 3 full-day workshop days, 8 half-day early release days, biweekly PLCs, staff meetings, team and department time. We create our professional development plan in April, informed by staff feedback and data. No one event carries all the weight; it's consistency across multiple structures that moves the work forward.

Accountability runs through our biweekly district leadership team meetings, focused on how goals are progressing, where support is needed, and whether plans stay aligned to our mission/vision. We do principal site visits, rotating across all 5 schools, where leaders share their work, challenges, and how they can support one another.

This year's major focus is developing metrics for success tied to our revised Portrait of a Graduate, in partnership with AASA(opens in new tab) and Battelle for Kids(opens in new tab). Maine has had guiding principles (what many now call durable skills) embedded in its learning standards for nearly 30 years. As AI adoption accelerates, skills like critical thinking and discernment matter more than ever. Our updated Portrait gives those skills the clarity they deserve, and we're now building a transferable K-12 measurement framework to match. AI helps us synthesize data and communicate efficiently, but the human relationships, trust, observation, and feedback at the heart of this work remain irreplaceable."