Cognia Leader Chat

Zillow is a great resource for buying a home, but Jeff and John Tanner discuss that there is a better way to determine the success of a school beyond the letter grade sometimes assigned to them. As Jeff talks with John, you will see that the concept of accountability is not the issue, but rather what schools are accountable to and how success is measured. Prepare yourself for a discussion that most educators will be able to relate to.

As Jeff describes it, Redefining Student Success is a beautifully dense book! We have been mining content and expertise to help leaders turn the COVID corner and focus on what is most important . . . supporting students and communities. As you will hear, authors Ken Kay and Suzie Boss, are laser-focused on providing a roadmap and examples for schools and districts to craft a portrait of a graduate and embed efforts and strategies directly tied to their ultimate goals. As you will notice, Jeff loved this book and his time with Ken and Suzie.

How can schools overcome the current challenges and use their opportunities to innovate? If anyone knows the answer to this question, it would be Tom Vander Ark. As the CEO of getting smart, he has visited thousands of schools and contributed to countless books, articles, blog posts, and podcasts on the topic of educational innovations.  He and Jeff explore the need for leaders to strategically shift their attention from political turmoil to innovative opportunities and systems for students. Prepare yourself for a fascinating conversation.

Educational leaders often have to juggle multiple roles such as serving as an educator, parent, leader, and politician. Easier said than done. How do you find balance? Kirsten Baesler, State Superintendent of North Dakota, teaches us that striking ‘balance’ may not be the right goal. Her extensive experience as a 24-year educator including being a vice-principal, library media specialist, classroom teacher, instructional assistant and nine years as a school board member make her extremely qualified to provide perspective. After five minutes of listening to Superintendent Baesler, you will be a fan.

Rob Neu has spent 27 years in public education and is the past superintendent of Oklahoma City and Federal Way Washington. During this Leader Chat, he and Jeff reflect on their past work and discuss the challenges educational leaders face today. Rob is refreshingly humble and honest. Listening to him discuss what he believes is the most important aspect to focus on is eye-opening.

If you follow education in any way, you know that school boards are often an important part of success and challenges school systems and communities navigate. Over time, school boards have become more political than ever. In this episode, Jeff talks with Dr. Andre` Harrison, Vice President of Accreditation Services here at Cognia. Andre has had a rich history as an educational leader including serving as a superintendent. Currently, he works with and trains school boards regarding role and policy development. As you will hear, he and Jeff discuss the ups, downs, and potential of district leaders working cohesively with boards of education.

In schools, who has the biggest impact on our students? Teachers do of course. Who better to share with the perspective, triumphs, and trials of teachers over the past couple of years than Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. The AFT represents over 1.7 million educators and healthcare professionals! Here you will hear Jeff describe the importance of leaders listening to teachers and Randi does an outstanding job advocating for their needs.

Linda Darling-Hammond talks with us about reinventing schools, new design principles for schools, preparing teachers for deeper learning, and some overall advice she has for educational leaders.

Dr. Fullan elevates our understanding, truly setting a new bar, relative to the need for deep collaboration in our schools and communities.

In today’s political environment, there are topics that are understandably challenging to discuss in schools. How do educational leaders engage in and talk about sensitive issues and keep their community together and focused on the needs of students? We are so thankful to have had Beverly Daniel Tatum on our Leader Chat to provide perspective and advice. She has talked and written extensively on the topic, truly an expert.