Season 1

Feb. 7, 2017

Michael Lubelfeld, Ed.D.

Unlearning Leader: Leading for Tomorrow’s Schools Today "We have experienced reform movements since the 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s. Elements of them have been really nice, really successful, or really effective. But the reason that many of these reforms have failed, stifled ch…

Guest: Michael Lubelfeld, Ed.D.

Jan. 31, 2017

Fred Navarro, Ed.D.

"I think that when the system provides support to staff members and they feel they can take risks, they feel they can be rewarded for being creative and for helping one another, for stepping out of the box, and I see that happen at whatever level, it is just rewarding." - Fred Navarro, Ed.D.

Jan. 24, 2017

Ricardo Medina

"I come from that background as a migrant worker, myself as an English learner, so I had an empathy and an understanding for the struggles that many of the families worked through. And I believe that helped to shape me as a servant leader, and it helped me to serve those communities where I was fo…

Guest: Ricardo Medina

Jan. 17, 2017

Phil Ertl, EdD

"The most important part of education is relationships. Whether it's a teacher-student relationship or the teacher, principal, and so on, without good relationships nothing positive is ever going to happen." - Phil Ertl, Ed.D.

Guest: Phil Ertle, Ed.D.

Dec. 20, 2016

Happy Holidays

Hi everyone, and welcome to District Leader. We’re taking a break for the holidays, but will be returning with incredible guests in the new year. In the meantime, I invite you to listen to our past District Leader podcasts....

Dec. 13, 2016

Randy Ziegenfuss, Ed.D.

"How do we create that inspiring vision that will help us break out of that cycle, something that is greater than ourselves, something that can only be achieved by everybody working together." -Randy Ziegenfuss, Ed.D. -Randy Ziegenfuss, Ed.D.

Guest: Randy Ziegenfuss, Ed.D.

Dec. 6, 2016

Hector Montenegro, Ed.D.

"...there are these skillset gaps that happen because ...even though they might have been in the system, the system may not have really developed a strategic plan for succession leadership. It's just whose next available or ...I deserve it, it's my turn. and we put people in positions that they a…

Guest: Hector Montenegro, Ed.D.

Nov. 29, 2016

Cindy Zurchin, Ed.D. (22)

"My immediate thought was that nobody was going to die on my watch. I certainly had no plans to die that day, and I didn't have any plans that any of my students were going to be hurt or injured..." - Cindy Zurchin, Ed.D.

Guest: Cindy Zurchin, Ed.D. (22)

Nov. 16, 2016

Kristan Rodriguez, Ph.D.

"...I think it's essential for us at the central office to stay connected to the schools, to stay connected to the kids... to the educators; but also we really are the conduit to the greater community, and we need to be the voice for the district..." Kristan Rodriguez, Ph.D.

Guest: Kristan Rodriguez, Ph.D.

Nov. 9, 2016

Ray Queener, Ed.D.

"Our tagline is, 'every student, every day'". And I take every one of those words very seriously. When we say every student, we are not talking about some of them, a few of them, or these ones, we are talking about every student, every day." - Ray Queener, Ed.D.

Nov. 2, 2016

REFLECTION: Luis R. Valentino, Ed.D.

Hi everyone, and welcome to District Leader. Thank you for joining us. I wanted to do something a little different t his week. Instead of posting an interview with one of our guests, I wanted to take the opportunity to ...

Oct. 19, 2016

Nick Henkle

"The key is that we have a team, they come in every day, and they ensure that the next generation is better than the last." - Nick Henkle

Guest: Nick Henkle

Oct. 12, 2016

Diann Kitamura, Ed.D.

"I really believe that as a leader. . . to be able to inspire, we have to have the belief that we can achieve whatever it is we set our minds to. If we have that belief, then the people around us will have that belief . . . no matter how hard it is, no matter how tough it is, you continue to work t…

Guest: Diann Kitamura, Ed.D.

Oct. 5, 2016

Rich Merlo

"So we made a commitment several days ago, that our kids are going to have the same access and opportunity that other kids throughout the world are having, because they are going to be behind in knowing and realizing and accessing information that is incredible... " - Rich Merlo

Sept. 28, 2016

Michael Lubelfeld, Ed.D.

"In that school system, Luis, I was the superintendent and the entire central office. It was me, the principal of the prek - 8 schools, and we had 3 administrative assistants. And we were the administration, together with the bookkeeper. So, I learned all about tax levies... bonds...facilities...…

Guest: Michael Lubelfeld, Ed.D.

Sept. 21, 2016

Dr. Shane Hotchkiss

"I was willing to take the risk because of what I believe education should be for kids, and really begin to ask questions, and frame questions in a way that our school board and our community tried to understand what we were trying to do." …

Guest: Dr. Shane Hotchkiss

Sept. 15, 2016

David Tebo

"I think I stepped in a few things early on. I said some things that my intent was good, but it was perceived differently. And perception is that person's reality. So I really had to think about who I was and how I was leading." - David Tebo

Guest: David Tebo

Sept. 7, 2016

Danna Diaz, Ph.D.

"If I'm going to make a difference in the lives of young people, especially poor children, and children of color, then I'm going to have to be the Superintendent to put those systems in place and make sure that I remove those barriers, and if there are barriers, why are they." - Danna Diaz, PhD

Guest: Danna Diaz, Ph.D.

Aug. 31, 2016

Xavier de la Torre, PhD

"Education is the civil rights issue of our time. There is no more important agenda to making sure that we continue to enjoy the economic prosperity and the national security we've enjoyed for over two centuries than being part of the public school system." -Xavier de la Torre, PhD

Guest: Xavier de la Torre, PhD

Aug. 24, 2016

Derk Garcia

"For us, the message that we're trying to get out... is that we have the potential to positively impact every single child every day. And what we want to do as an organization is to be a little bit better tomorrow than we are today." - Derk Garcia

Guest: Derk Garcia

Aug. 17, 2016

Nick Polyak, PhD

"I don't know that I ever expected the political nature of this job... at Leyden we serve 7 different communities... I have to get to know 7 mayors, 7 police chiefs, 7 fire chiefs, 2 state senators, 4 state representatives... there are so many different lenses and relationships to take care of." …

Guest: Nick Polyak, PhD

Aug. 10, 2016

Lupita Hightower, PhD

"We have not suspended a student in the last 5 years. Now that's just the framework and the belief system. There's a lot of strategy within that belief system, but it really empowers the whole team and the students to know that 'they do believe in me and there's going to be a strategy behind that'…

Guest: Lupita Hightower, PhD

Aug. 3, 2016

Steve Holmes

Steve Holmes, Superintendent of the Sunnyside Unified School District, in Tucson, Arizona. Steve serves as the top administrator in Southern Arizona’s second largest school district. Steve is a champion for equity, and has ...

Guest: Steve Holmes

July 27, 2016

Karen Sanchez-Griego, PhD

"You absolutely have to be the lead person, you are the educator. So when you move from the classroom to the boardroom... or the classroom to the big room, in an educational setting or an administrative office, your role is not done. You are still teaching." - Karen Sanchez-Griego, PhD

Guest: Karen Sanchez-Griego, PhD