SchoolCEO: K-12 Marketing + Communications

Coaching girls’ swimming is where Jill Siler first heard the call to education. After that, Siler’s passion for impacting students’ lives has only grown. Now, with 26 years in education, Siler has served nearly 10 years as Gunter ISD’s superintendent, authored the book Thrive through the Five: Practical Truths to Powerfully Lead through Challenging Times, and is transitioning into a new role with TASA (Texas Association of School Administrators). A proponent of leading with vulnerability, Siler faces challenges head on with openness and honesty. Instead of shying away from the struggles inherent in leadership roles, she considers it a privilege to be trusted with making the hard decisions and recognizes hardship as a key ingredient for growing as a leader.In this episode of SchoolCEO Conversations, Siler shares her passion for effective leadership and discusses major themes from her book, including mentorship, motherhood and women in the superintendency, and how to thrive during seasons of difficulty.To check out Thrive Through the Five and find book study resources, go to jillmsiler.com/book.Dr. Jill Siler (@jillmsiler)Texas Association of School Administrators (@tasanet)Texas Council of Women School Executives (tcwse.org)Gunter ISD (@Gunter_ISD)Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for more advice, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com.  Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com.Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform. 

Starting his education career as a teacher and soccer coach, Dr. Glenn Robbins learned the power of connection and teamwork early on. Fortunately for the students and staff in Brigantine—the small island community just north of Atlantic City—this was an invaluable asset when the pandemic sent everyone home just one month into Robbins’ superintendence. Keenly focused on the needs of his district’s stakeholders, Robbins has been able to rally Brigantine together to streamline online learning, make asynchronous instruction more inclusive, and instill a sense of hope and growth into the students and families the district serves. In this episode, Robbins shares his passion for building connections, bringing people together to achieve the seemingly insurmountable, and growing a learning community where students can design their own futures.Dr. Glenn Robbins (@Glennr1809)Brigantine Community School (@brigschools)Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for more advice, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com. Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com.Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform. 

Starting her career as a journalist before moving into school public relations, Lesley Bruinton quickly realized that many schools don’t know how to utilize or value their communications and public relations professionals.So she set out to discover how she could use her skills and experience as a communicator to effect change for students and families in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Recognizing herself as a content specialist, Bruinton incorporates strategic communications into her work, focusing on the four-step process of Research, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation. This has helped Bruinton streamline her work and build capacity in others to be effective communicators. In this episode of SchoolCEO Conversations, Bruinton shares her thoughts on the field of school communications, the role that PR professionals can and should play in schools, and how they can help leaders in times of transition.To learn more about  NSPRA, the National School Public Relations Association, check them out on Twitter @NSPRA or find your local chapter at nspra.org. Lesley Bruinton, A.P.R. (@lesleybruinton)Tuscaloosa City Schools ( @TCSBoardofEd)Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for more advice, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com. Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com.Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform. 

When most people think of Selma, AL, they think of a past associated with images like the Edmund Pettus Bridge, John Lewis, and the Civil Rights Movement. But for Dr. Avis Williams, superintendent of Selma City Schools, her Selma is about the future. Although Selma has a rich history, when Dr. Williams arrived in the district, the small school district in the Black Belt of Alabama faced many of the same challenges that small school districts across the country experience, including a shrinking teacher and leadership pool. The lack of available talent was so bad that whenever the district needed to hire someone for a leadership role—whether in the classroom or in administration—they were constantly having to look elsewhere. In order to ensure an even brighter future for Selma, Dr. Williams and her team developed a leadership pipeline in the small district.  In this episode, Dr. Williams shares how the small district of Selma was able to create a robust leadership pipeline for teachers and administrators.Dr. Avis Williams (@DrAvisW)Selma City Schools (@SelmaSchools)Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for more advice, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com. Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com.Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform. 

Lisa Elliot has deep roots in her school district—she’s spent over 29 years as a teacher, principal, and now superintendent in Greenfield School District. Nestled in the suburbs of Milwaukee, Greenfield ISD includes a student body that speaks over 40 different languages within just six schools. To make sure her district is the ideal place to meet the needs of both its students and its teachers, Elliot has reworked the very fabric of her district using the Understanding by Design framework. This has meant rethinking professional learning and intentionally choosing language that is both meaningful and empowering. In this episode, Elliot shares how her district is backward planning to be a district where teachers and students thrive as leaders and learners.You can follow Lisa Elliot and the School District of Greenfield on Twitter @Greenfield_SDSubscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for more advice, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com. Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com.Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform. 

In his long career as superintendent, Dr. Roger Catania has thought continuously about how to lead his schools so that their students become citizens that enrich their communities. In his final years as superintendent, however, Roger began considering something else— how communities, and more specifically businesses, can make schools a better place to learn. In doing this, Roger has created a set of standards that he believes all businesses should follow—if they want to do business with schools. In this episode, Roger explores how corporate practices can impact student learning and what schools can do about it. You  can read Dr. Catania's views on ethical school purchasing in the AASA's Journal of Scholarship and Practice. Lake Placid Central School DistrictSubscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for more advice, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com. Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com.Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform. 

Growing up in Central Arkansas, Jon Laffoon found his passion for science and education thanks to a teacher who left a lasting impression. Now, he's paying it forward, working to help students in his home state see their own potential.Now, Laffoon has brought both his background in science and his personal investment in students to his superintendency. Leading Northwest Arkansas' Farmington Public Schools, he’s making sure his community knows not just about the district's great STEM programs, but also the care and concern his staff shows every student.Jon Laffoon (@laffoon_jon)Farmington School District (@farmcards)Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for more advice, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com. Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com.Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform. 

Dr. Victor Simon’s own experience growing up in Chicago has driven his approach to leadership. Simon describes himself as “a difficult student,” and teachers usually didn’t take kindly to Simon’s behavior as a child. Simon recognizes that his life would be completely different if it weren’t for the two teachers that did value him. Wanting to be the change for students that he saw in those two teachers led him to a career in education. Prior to becoming superintendent of Illinois’ Gower School District 62, Simon grew up in and spent his entire professional career in Chicago Public Schools. In this episode, Simon shares how his personal experiences have informed his need for leadership to be an “or bust” mentality.Dr. Victor Simon (@drvsimon)Gower School District 62 (@GowerTweet)Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for more advice, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com.  Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com.Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform. 

Prof. Derek W. Black is an accomplished education legal scholar and constitutional law professor whose 2020 book, Schoolhouse Burning: Public Education and the Assault on American Democracy, interprets the education privatization movement of today within the context of American history. Black’s accolades include publishing over thirty scholarly articles in the nation’s top legal journals and having his work cited by the Supreme Court. Black currently serves as the Ernest F. Hollings Chair in Constitutional Law at the University of South Carolina School of Law. Although he may not be a school leader, Black’s deep roots in education history have helped him become one of the nation’s foremost voices in interpreting today’s current political and educational climate through the lens of history. Derek is especially interested in how a strong public school system is vital to a thriving democracy. In this special episode, Black illuminates how school leaders can make their way through today’s tumultuous educational landscape by digging deep into their relationships with their community. Prof. Derek W. Black (@DerekWBlack)https://www.derekwblack.com/Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for more advice, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com. Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com.Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform. 

Dr. Bob Baldwin had never planned on being a superintendent at Fairhaven, but he had always planned to send his children there.  So Bob was shocked nearly a decade ago when his wife, an alumna who "bled blue and white," told him that she didn’t think Fairhaven schools were good enough anymore. Because of his family’s passion for the district, he knew he had to help make Fairhaven not only a great district, but a district any employee would want to send their kids to. As luck would have it, Bob was already looking for a superintendency, and Fairhaven's was open. In this episode, Bob shares how Fairhaven is building leaders to make the district a destination that teachers, staff, and students are proud to call home.Dr. Bob Baldwin and Fairhaven Public Schools (@Fairhevn_PS)Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for more advice, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com. Follow SchoolCEO on LinkedIn or X/Twitter @school_ceo. Subscribe to SchoolCEO at SchoolCEO.com for research, stories, and strategies for leading your schools. And if you have a story you’d like to share, email us at editor@schoolceo.com.Learn more about SchoolCEO and all of our resources on our About page. SchoolCEO is powered by Apptegy, the maker of the leading K-12 communications and brand management platform.