Education Elements

06/05/2025

The most impactful school transformations aren't driven by flashy programs. They're rooted in intentional, human-centered strategies.

From integrating AI thoughtfully to amplifying student voices and forging lasting community partnerships, sustainable change is about aligning innovation with the real needs of students and educators.

📝Discover five key insights from superintendents and researchers on what truly makes school change stick:
https://hubs.ly/Q03qW8Lz0

Explore how visionary leadership, community engagement, holistic student development, and thoughtful policymaking are building resilient, future-ready schools.

06/03/2025

What happens when a superintendent leads with curiosity instead of compliance?

Dr. Sean Bulson, Superintendent of Harford County Public Schools, shares how listening at scale is helping reshape career readiness systems, rebuild trust with educators, and create stronger postsecondary outcomes for students in our latest episode of The K–12 Change Equation.

Rather than relying on top-down mandates, Dr. Bulson is taking a deliberate, strengths-based approach to change. That means expanding student pathways through apprenticeships and dual enrollment, rethinking what “career-ready” truly means, and giving teachers back the time and agency they need to lead instruction with purpose.

The result? A school system where students are more confident in their future—and teachers feel like professionals again.

We pulled a few favorite quotes from the conversation that reveal what real, sustainable change looks like at the district level.

🎧 Listen now on your favorite podcast platform:
https://hubs.ly/Q03qzPK-0

💬 How is your district balancing long-term strategy with immediate capacity? What’s helping you build trust across teams right now?

🎙️ Hosted by Dr. Leila Nuland and Dr. Mort Sherman.

05/29/2025

📊 Over 50% of leaders in our recent LinkedIn poll said student disengagement is the top challenge in high school literacy, and they're not wrong.

Engagement is down, scores are flat, and in too many classrooms, students are just going through the motions.

So what does it take to actually captivate and motivate high school learners?

On Monday, two district teams will share how they’re using the Odell High School Literacy curriculum to redesign instruction around relevance, agency, and deep thinking.

🗓️ June 2 | 11 AM MST / 1 PM ET
🔗 Save your seat: https://hubs.ly/Q03pSKmg0

Discover how superintendents are tackling budget stress while sharpening strategic priorities. This panel explores practical approaches to stay focused, support staff, and make impactful decisions when the budget is tight.

05/28/2025

What does effective high school literacy look like today?

On June 2, we’re hosting a free webinar featuring district leaders who are building stronger literacy systems using the Odell curriculum.

You’ll hear how they’re aligning instruction, supporting teachers, and creating better outcomes for students.

🗓️ June 2 | 11 AM MST / 1 PM ET
🔗 Save your seat: https://hubs.ly/Q03px4kB0

05/27/2025

“How do you communicate in a way that can help people open their minds to be better leaders themselves?”
That’s the question Dr. Maria Ott asks in Episode 14 of The K–12 Change Equation, and it’s one every leader should sit with.
As a former superintendent and current USC professor, Dr. Ott brings deep perspective on what it really takes to build trust, grow talent, and lead change in today’s schools.
🎧Tune in and reflect on how you lead—and how you help others grow.
https://hubs.ly/Q03ppqhM0

05/21/2025

What does effective high school literacy look like today?

On June 2, we’re hosting a free webinar featuring district leaders who are building stronger literacy systems using the Odell curriculum.

You’ll hear how they’re aligning instruction, supporting teachers, and creating better outcomes for students.

🗓️ June 2 | 11 AM MST / 1 PM ET
🔗 Save your seat: https://hubs.ly/Q03nGjLc0

05/20/2025

What if your accountability systems weren’t just about tracking results, but actually helped you improve them?

Learn how Alexandria City Public Schools has reshaped accountability from a compliance exercise into a driver of system-wide improvement to build trust, align practices, and support real instructional change along the way.

Dr. Clint Page, Chief Accountability Officer at ACPS, joins hosts Dr. Leila Nuland and Dr. Mort Sherman to share how his district reimagined accountability as a tool for systems-level improvement on this week’s episode of The K–12 Change Equation.

This conversation is packed with insights for anyone leading strategic planning, navigating compliance pressures, or trying to make data more actionable.

🎧Listen to the episode now:
https://hubs.ly/Q03nr50v0

👇How is your district using data to drive meaningful change rather than simply measure progress? Let us know in the comments section!

05/13/2025

Strong district leadership isn’t about reacting to headlines—it’s about protecting what matters most: students, teachers, and the systems that support them.

Dr, Gustavo Balderas, Superintendent of Beaverton School District and President of AASA, offers a powerful look at what steady, student-centered district leadership really looks like in the latest episode of The K-12 Change Equation.

From building trust across divided communities to “weeding the garden” of outdated initiatives, his perspective is a reminder that clarity, communication, and strategic planning are more important than ever.

🎧 Watch the clip, then catch the full episode: https://hubs.ly/Q03mmW5W0

💡What’s one change you’ve made this year to simplify or strengthen your leadership approach? We want to hear from you in the comments!

Hosted by Dr. Leila Nuland and Dr. Mort Sherman.

05/09/2025

Listening to your most critical voices doesn’t slow change.
It’s how you make it stick.

In a time when teacher burnout is high and trust is fragile, Dr. Francisco Durán’s leadership shows what authentic engagement looks like. Hear how he responded to real feedback, adapted policy, and brought staff along during a grading overhaul in this episode, hosted by Dr. Leila Nuland and Uly Navarete.

It’s a roadmap for leading through complexity with heart and strategy.

🎧Learn why timing matters just as much as vision in systemwide change:
https://hubs.ly/Q03lVG490

05/09/2025

Morale isn’t built through grand gestures. It’s built in hallway conversations, check-in questions, and how teachers feel about going into work every day.

As Teacher Appreciation Week comes to a close, we want to shift the conversation from short-term gestures to long-term impact. Education leaders are turning to trust-building, shared ownership, and day-to-day connection to make teacher experience part of the strategic conversation.

Dr. Leila Nuland combines national data from EdWeek's 2025 State of Teaching Report with real insights from her recent conversation with Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter.

This reflection combines national data with real district insights and offers timely takeaways for any leader thinking about retention, climate, and what appreciation should look like in 2025 and beyond.

🍎 Discover actionable ways to turn appreciation into retention:
https://hubs.ly/Q03lL0-q0

05/07/2025

Move over Marvel. The real superheroes are in our classrooms.

This week, we're celebrating the extraordinary powers educators bring to their students every day. From deciphering cryptic handwriting and super-hearing to juggling dozens of tasks with grace, teachers exhibit superhuman abilities that deserve more recognition.

We've compiled a list of the top 10 teacher superpowers that should probably be added to the next Avengers script.

📝Read the blog and share it with a teacher who inspires you:
https://hubs.ly/Q03lybwk0

🍎Which teacher superpower have you seen in action recently? Tag someone who deserves a shoutout this week!

Marvel superheros have nothing on teachers.

05/06/2025

“There is no way this is being put on me.” That's what Supt. Joseph Hochreiter said when asked how he’d fix climate and culture. He knew that to truly address burnout, he needed teachers, staff, and union leaders to help lead the work, not just receive the outcome.

In this special Teacher Appreciation Week episode, Joseph Hochreiter (Superintendent of Schools for City School District of Albany) shares how he navigated becoming Albany’s 7th superintendent in 17 years, and why retention has to come before recruitment.

He opened up to host Leila Nuland about having the hard conversations, moments of self-doubt, and the small wins that are shifting morale in one of New York’s most complex school systems.

If you’re a district leader working to reduce burnout, improve trust, and create a school culture worth staying in, you'll want to hear this conversation.

🎧Listen to the episode now or download it for later:
https://hubs.ly/Q03lkvGS0