SchoolCEO: K-12 Marketing + Communications

Dr. Paul O’Malley has always understood the foundational role of education—after all, he still remembers his teachers’ names decades later. When the pandemic hit, O’Malley knew that he would need to lead his district in a way that allowed schools to prioritize safe, whole-child education, even if that meant doing things differently.To make this happen, O’Malley strategized with his team at Butler 53 and a neighboring district to leave no stone unturned in seeking how to make learning safer. This led him to initiate regular, school-based COVID-19 testing for the entire Butler community, an effort that would earn him recognition from other districts across Illinois—and trust from his community. In this episode,  O’Malley shares how rethinking how his schools served as bedrocks of the community allowed him to lead his district to reopen schools safely in October 2020. If you would like to connect with Dr. O'Malley about how Butler 53 has implemented testing and other measures, you can contact him below. Dr. Paul O'Malley (@D53ButlerSupt)Butler School District 53 (@ButlerSD53)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. Carol Birks’ start at Chester Upland School District didn’t go quite as planned. Like most entering superintendents, Birks had planned to spend her first months at the Pennsylvania district meeting and listening  to her community. However, the COVID-19 pandemic changed all of that. Instead of hitting the ground running in July 2020, Birks was forced to alter her entrance strategy. Instead of the standard transition, she found ways to meet people who  couldn’t be physically present and navigate school reopening in an area with extremely high transmission rates.  In this episode, Birks shares how she made connections in spite of COVID-19, and how Chester Upland is now returning to the classroom.Dr. Carol Birks (@drcarolbirks)Chester Upland School District (@ChesterUplandSD)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. Kevin McCahill grew up across the Hudson River from the high-rise buildings he’d eventually work in on Wall Street. Despite beginning a lucrative career as a bond broker, he felt unfulfilled and jealous of his fiancee (now wife) and sister—both teachers. McCahill decided to trade in Wall Street to start his education career earning $100 per day as a substitute math teacher. McCahill eventually became the superintendent of New York’s Nanuet Union Free School District.  In this episode, McCahill shares how his story shapes his understanding of leadership and his role as Nanuet UFSD's CEO—Chief Enthusiasm Officer.Dr. Kevin McCahill (@McCahillk2013)Nanuet Union Free School District (@NUFSD)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. 

Despite his passion for service, Dr. Francisco Escobedo never planned on being an educator. Growing up in New York City, he always dreamed of being a police officer. After attending Yale, Escobedo moved to San Diego to realize his dream. Despite his lifelong dream and aspirations to move up in the force, a chance arrest of a teenage boy changed everything for him. With encouragement from his patrol partner, Escobedo realized he wanted to serve and help young people before they ever entered the criminal justice system. Years later, Escobedo is now the superintendent of Chula Vista Elementary School District in San Diego, where he’s promoting innovation through partnerships. Prior to the pandemic, Chula Vista established Stations across San Diego to inspire innovation and creativity among students. However, when the pandemic hit, the Chula Vista team felt the lessons learned in the stations were too great to not provide them in some way during distance learning. In this episode, Escobedo shares not only his personal story but how Chula Vista is bringing innovation into students’ homes through Innovation LIVE! You can connect with Dr. Francisco Escobedo on LinkedIn.Chula Vista Elementary School District (@CVESDNews)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. Chris Meyrick knows how important social-emotional learning is. Before developing his own SEL program or writing his dissertation on how to implement SEL, Meyrick learned how to regulate his emotions through his interactions with his teachers and principals growing up. Meyrick, now the superintendent and principal of New Jersey’s Beach Haven Borough School District, has devoted his career in education to promoting SEL wherever he goes. However, his own everyday experiences growing up showed him that SEL is done best when it’s part of the culture of a district and not an extracurricular. In this episode, Meyrick shares how he’s built a culture of SEL wherever he’s led and how your students can build social-emotional skills without an expensive program. Dr. Chris Meyrick (@CSMeyrick)Beach Haven Borough 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. 

During Ken Gutman’s tenure, Michigan’s Walled Lake School District has passed several bonds and secured lots of community support. In 2019, the 13,000 student school district passed a $319 million bond for Building, Infrastructure, and Equity—the second-largest bond ever in the state at the time.It’s safe to say Gutman knows how to get a bond passed. From gaining buy-in to marketing the outcomes, he has a process for getting even the largest votes passed. However, it wasn’t flashy mailers that got Walled Lake’s buy-in. Gutman shares how the relationships he’s built over the more than a decade in the role at Walled Lake has ultimately been the key to his success.Ken Gutman (@kennethgutman)Walled Lake School District (@WalledLkSchools)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. 

This isn’t Dr. Joe Ricca’s first pandemic. A decade ago, he also led his district through the H1N1 Swine Flu Pandemic. Now, Ricca is building on his previous experience to lead New York’s White Plains School District through COVID-19. In addition to leading a district through one of the most challenging years in education’s history, Ricca also serves on the New Jersey State Board of Education. From these vantage points, he’s been able to see how the pandemic has impacted not just his district, but education throughout an entire state.In this episode, Ricca shares how building buy-in long before is the best way to navigate a crisis when it hits. He also dives into what schools and the government need to do before another crisis arrives.Dr. Joe Ricca (@DrJosephRicca)White Plains CSD (@wplainsschools)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. Lupita Hightower always wanted to be an educator. Even before she and her family immigrated to the United States when she was a child, Dr. Hightower knew she wanted to make a difference in the lives of students.  Despite her passion, some teachers and classmates discouraged Hightower along the way, claiming she could never be successful in the classroom. Years later, Dr. Hightower credits the teachers who believed in her—without exception—with the success she’s had for over a decade as superintendent of Arizona’s Tolleson Elementary School District.In this episode, we discuss with Dr. Hightower how she is using the Kids at Hope philosophy and how her own experiences as a student are shaping her leadership at Tolleson.Dr. Lupita Hightower (@LupitaHightower)Tolleson Elementary (@TollesonESD)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. Jason Andrews has seen school leadership from both sides. Now the superintendent of New York’s Windsor Central School District, he began his career in education as a member of his local district’s school board—three weeks before he graduated from high school. He’s taken the lessons gleaned from that experience with him through his more than 25 years in education, and now, he uses his expertise to help other school leaders build positive relationships with their boards. Today on the podcast, we’ll ask Dr. Andrews how supers can work with their boards to produce the best possible outcomes for students.Dr. Jason Andrews (@WBKANDREWS)Windsor CSD (@Windsor_CSD)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. 

Mike Nelson, Assistant Executive Director for Professional Learning at the Washington Association of School Administrators, knows how difficult 2020 was for educators, especially superintendents. When the pandemic hit in March, Nelson was superintendent of Enumclaw School District, the district he grew up in. With the start of the new year, Nelson and WASA launched a campaign to bring hope to educators across the state after the toughest year they have ever faced. Every day in January, Nelson and other Washington school leaders shared short videos of hope with their colleagues on WASA’s social media. In this episode, Nelson shares how he launched “A New Beginning...2021: 31 Days of Hope” to show other administrators and superintendents that despite the challenges of 2020, the work all educators do brings hope to us all.Mike Nelson (@SuitguyMike)You can find all entries in the 31 Days of Hope on WASA's Twitter and Facebook.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.